Page "Aeneid" Paragraph 24

The Aeneid is a cornerstone of the Western canon, and early ( at least by the 2nd century AD ) became one of the essential elements of a Latin education, usually required to be memorized.

Even after the decline of the Roman Empire, it " remained central to a Latin education ".

In Latin-Christian culture, the Aeneid was one of the canonical texts, subjected to commentary as a philological and educational study, with the most complete commentary having been written by the 4th-century grammarian Maurus Servius Honoratus.

It was widely held to be the pinnacle of Latin literature, much in the same way that the Iliad was seen to be supreme in Greek literature.

The strong influence of the Aeneid has been identified in the development of European vernacular literatures — some English works that show its influence being Beowulf, Layamon's Brut ( through the source text Historia Regum Britanniae ), The Faerie Queene, and Milton's Paradise Lost.

Italian poet Dante Alighieri was himself profoundly influenced by the Aeneid, so much so that his magnum opus The Divine Comedy, itself widely considered a part of the western canon, was written in a style similar to the Aeneid and featured the author Virgil as a major character-the guide of Dante through the realms of the Inferno and Purgatorio.

The importance of Latin education itself was paramount in Western culture: " from 1600 to 1900, the Latin school was at the center of European education, wherever it was found "; within that Latin school, Virgil was taught at the advanced level and, in 19th-century England, special editions of Virgil were awarded to students who distinguished themselves.