The Aeneid is Virgil's Masterpiece His epic poem recounts the story of Rome's legendary origins from the ashes of Troy & proclaims her destiny of world dominion This optimistic vision is accompanied by an undertow of sadness at the price that must be paid in human suffering to secure Rome's future greatness The tension between the public voice of celebration & the tragic private voice is given full expression both in the doomed love of Dido & Aeneas & in the fateful clash between the Trojan leader & the Italian hero Turnus Hailed by TS Eliot as 'the classic of all Europe' Virgil's Aeneid has enjoyed a unique & enduring influence on European literature art & politics for the past two thousand years