Vergil
Dante's underworld guide
Vergil is the Roman poet who wrote the *Aeneid*, Rome's founding epic.
The spelling varies between Vergil (closer to the Latin *Vergilius*) and Virgil (the traditional English form).
Both are correct; Vergil appears more often in scholarly contexts.
The name has become shorthand for classical literary authority: a latter-day Vergil guiding readers through complexity.
Roman founding epic
- hexameterSix-foot poetic line
- dactylicThree-beat poetic meter
- pastoralOf countryside or clergy care
- didacticIntended to instruct
Augustan · Latin · versification · epic · verse · meter · stanza · couplet
Rome's inaugural emperor
- RomeItaly's capital city
- ItalyBoot-shaped European nation
- TiberCentral Italian river
- empireDomain under unified control
republic · senate · forum · Latin · classical · civilization · patron · Golden Age
Trojan founder of Rome's lineage
- LaviniaRoman-origin female name
- SibylProphetess or name thereof
- UnderworldRealm of the dead
- TrojansCitizens of Ilium
Carthage · Latium · Juno · Jupiter · Venus · Neptune · Fates · Elysium
Ancient Greek epic composer
- IliadAncient Greek war epic
- OdysseyEpic of homecoming
- epicImpressively grand in scope
- heroicExceptionally brave and noble
Troy · Greek · narrative · catalogue · simile · epithet · journey · wandering
Italian epic poet
- Divine ComedyItalian allegorical verse trilogy
- MiltonBaroque English verse master
- Paradise LostEpic of humanity's expulsion
- InfernoLiterary journey through damnation
guide · medieval · Renaissance · allegory · canon · translation · commentary · imitation
Aeneid
Roman founding epic
didactic · Augustan · Latin · versification · epic · verse · meter · stanza · couplet · ode
Augustus
Rome's inaugural emperor
empire · republic · senate · forum · Latin · classical · civilization · patron · Golden Age · Caesar
Aeneas
Trojan founder of Rome's lineage
- LaviniaRoman-origin female name
- SibylProphetess or name thereof
- UnderworldRealm of the dead
Trojans · Carthage · Latium · Juno · Jupiter · Venus · Neptune · Fates · Elysium · Tartarus
Homer
Ancient Greek epic composer
heroic · Troy · Greek · narrative · catalogue · simile · epithet · journey · wandering · fate
Dante
Italian epic poet
- Divine ComedyItalian allegorical verse trilogy
- MiltonBaroque English verse master
- Paradise LostEpic of humanity's expulsion
Inferno · guide · medieval · Renaissance · allegory · canon · translation · commentary · imitation · legacy