A "sequel" to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid vividly recounts Aeneas's tortuous journey home after the Trojan War and the battles he faced as he lay the foundations for what grew to be the great Roman Empire. Virgil's Aeneid brings a new perspective to the ancient legend. John Dryden not only adds reflections on Virgil and on Roman history but also interprets the story in light of his own time and the political and moral confusion that followed the English civil wars and the revolution of 1688. Retaining both the nobility and the spirit of the original, Dryden's masterful work, Frederick M. Keener writes, "set a new, august standard so influential as to be epochal". This edition contains the short prefaces to each part of the poem written by Joseph Addison for the original publication, an introduction discussing Dryden's contribution to English verse traditions, maps, and a glossary.