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Introducing Virgil’s Aeneid

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This is a colour image of a mosaic showing a seated man in a white toga which is decorated around the edges. His left leg is on the floor. His right leg is drawn back and rests on a strut at the base of his chair. On his left knee there is a partially unrolled scroll which he holds in his left hand. In his right hand he is holding a writing implement at chest height above the scroll. Two woman stand behind him, one on either side of his high-backed chair. The woman to the left is wearing a green, sleeveless robe. She holds an unrolled scroll. The woman to the right wears a red, patterned garment with long sleeves. Her head is inclined towards the seated man and she supports her chin with her hand. In the crook of her left arm she holds a tragic mask which can be seen in profile. The figures are set against a background of white tesserae. The mosaic is bordered by narrow bands of black, white and red.

 1.1 Epic poetry before Virgil