The Aeneid by Virgil

This, the greatest Latin epic, was written by Virgil over the course of many years. The influence of The Aeneid on western literature cannot be overstated, it is a story of war, exile and love. I could plunge into a lengthy essay about the historical context of the poem but Virgil's masterful narrative is such that the story explains itself.
I shall provide a basic outline of the plot; Aeneas, a citizen of Troy escapes from the invasion of the city by Greeks (c.f: The Trojan War). He embarks on a seven year journey to Carthage where he meets Queen Dido. The pair fall in love but as Aeneas is summoned by the gods to found a new city for the exiled Trojans, he must leave her behind. This is the tragic element of The Aeneid, Dido's suicide due to unrequited love and Aeneas' guilt and fear of his own fate, this is later mirrored by the death of Pallas and the cost of war, as discussed in Book 12. The poem continues with Aeneas visit to the underworld under the guidance of the Sibyl of Cumae, as well as further battles and encounters with Greek and other civilizations.
It is important to note here that Virgil wrote The Aeneid as a response to Homer's Odyssey. There are many parallels between the two texts and there is an abundant supply of commentary and criticism that aims to highlight this, however, The Aeneid does not require extensive knowledge of Greek and Latin texts, certainly the Penguin classics edition has a large glossary of Latin terms. The opening line 'I sing of arms and the man' is true of the text, Virgil gives reportage of Aeneas' adventures but maintains an exquisite poetic voice that is unwavering in its portrayal of the beauty of love and the horror of war.
The Aeneid is essential reading for those interested in the epic poem as, arguably, it is the source of all other epic poems, the very archetype of later works such as Dante and Longfellow. By reading The Aeneid, one can grasp at a vision of war that is both enthralling and reflective.