Aeneid

Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598 Galleria Borghese, Rome

The Aeneid (Latin: Aeneis) is an epic poem written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC. It tells the story of "pious Aeneas".

Aeneas is a Trojan warrior who had to leave his city because the Greeks captured Troy after a long war. It starts with Aeneas carrying his father Anchises out of the burning Troy. It ends with Aeneas landing on the shores of Italy, fighting in the region of Rome. It can be read as indirect propaganda in favour of Augustus, the Roman Emperor of the day.

The story is written in hexameters, a type of verse.

Aeneid Media

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  Aeneas Flees Burning Troy, by Federico Barocci (1598). Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy

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  Map of Aeneas' fictional journey

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  Paul Cézanne, Aeneas Meeting Dido at Carthage, c. 1875, Princeton University Art Museum

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  Hawara Papyrus 24, with a line of the Aeneid (repeated 7 times, probably a writing exercise) that translates: "It is not the hated face of Spartan Helen..."). 1st century AD, from Hawara, Egypt; displayed at the British Museum, London

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  Roman bas-relief, 2nd century: Aeneas lands in Latium, leading Ascanius; the sow identifies the place to found his city (book 8).

• Lea Desandre performs the "Dido's Lament" aria from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with Les Arts Florissants in 2020.