I sing of warfare and a man at war.

From the sea-coast of Troy in early days

He came to Italy by destiny,

To our Lavinian western shore,

A fugitive, this captain, buffeted

. . .

Till he could found a city and bring

home

His gods to Laetium, land of the Latin

race,

THE AENEID

The Alban lords, and the high walls of Rome.

Tell me the causes now, O Muse, how galled

. . .

From her old wound, the queen of gods

compelled him—

. . .

To undergo so many perilous days

And enter on so many trials. Can anger

Black as this prey on the minds of heaven?

           (I.1–19)

LITERATURE

Aeneid• Author – Virgil• EPIC POEM

• Long• Tells a story

• About a Trojan man named Aeneas who travels to Italy and becomes the ancestor of the Romans

Latin

Languages that

have latin roots• Romance

languages• Spanish• Portuguese

LANGUAGE

• French• Italian• Romanian

• English also has roots in Latin

RELIGION

Roman mythology•Close ties to Greek mythology•Romulus and Remus•Library

RELIGION

Christianity• Originally banned

• Christians fed to lions for entertainment

• Paul, a Roman citizen was responsible for starting the early churches in Rome• AD 313 Emperor Constantine made

Christianity legal• AD 391 Worship of other gods was made

illegal.• What allowed the fast spread of

Christianity?