The first six books drive the Trojan survivor Aeneas through shipwreck, his doomed bond with Dido, and a descent to the underworld where Rome’s future is disclosed; the final six turn arrival in Italy into war with Turnus. Virgil deliberately joins an Odyssey-like voyage to Iliad-like battle, yet victories demanded by destiny repeatedly expose the human cost of empire and the strain between duty, rage, and mercy.