This volume provides the first full-scale commentary on the eighth book of Virgil’s Aeneid, the book in which the poet presents the unforgettable tour of the

Monumental epic poem tells the heroic story of Aeneas, a Trojan who escaped the burning ruins of Troy to found Lavinium, the parent city of Rome, in the west.

These books are intended to make Virgil's Latin accessible even to those with a fairly rudimentary knowledge of the language. There is a departure here from the

Fratantuono and Smith provide the first detailed consideration of Book 5 of Virgil's Aeneid, with introduction, critical text, translation and commentary.

Book VIII of the Aeneid presents a crucial turning point in the mythological foundation of Rome, with clear political resonances for the future Augustan regime.