Virgil's Aeneid A Reader's Guide

Written by eminent scholar David O. Ross, this guide helps readers to engage with the poetry, thought, and background of Virgil's great epic, suggesting both the depth and the beauty of Virgil's poetic images and the mental images with which the Romans lived. The book discusses in detail important illustrative passages in their poetic, historical, and intellectual contexts. Ross includes short introductions to key topics such as Roman religion and the Roman concept of "character," as well as a valuable appendix that clarifies how to read and hear the poem's Latin hexameter. This expertly written guide is an indispensable companion for anyone reading Virgil's Aeneid for the first time, in Latin or translation, and for readers seeking a deeper understanding of this classic epic poem.

David O. Ross is Emeritus Professor of Classics at the University of Michigan. He is author of Style and Tradition in Catullus (1969), Backgrounds to Augustan Poetry: Gallus, Elegy, and Rome (1975), and Virgil’s Elements: Physics and Poetry in the Georgics (1987).