I recently finished the epic story of Rome - Virgil's Aeneid. It tells the story of "Aeneas the True" as he flees from the fall of Troy, and starts the foundations of the Roman empire. To a certain extent it is propaganda, as the Greeks and Carthage are portrayed as enemies. It also is a reflection of the morality of the time. As Aeneas visits the underworld, traitors and tyrants are those singled out for punishments. The preaching of the greatness of Rome and of Caesar really does become tiresome.
But, also it is a outlining of an ideal of being true - both true as in honesty and true as in consistent, able, fixed, and immovable. Despite the antagonism of various deities and the vagaries of life, Aeneas stays true and fulfills his destiny. In some ways it shares the same hero outlook as Roark in the Fountainhead - a singular personage on a singular mission. However, it comes with a much stronger sense of morality and fate than is found in works by Rand, and much more akin to what is found in other classical literature such as the Bible. However, the telling of the epic journey can be seen to influence many other works, such as the Lord of the Rings and Gulliver's travels. Overall, it is an excellent piece of literature, a good glimpse into the psyche of Rome, and a valued foundational work, though not one I would read again.
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