Low Ham Roman Villa large 14 foot (4.3m) square mosaic from the floor of the "frigidarium" depicts the story of Aeneas and Dido, as told in the 1st century BC by the Roman poet, Virgil. Like the villa, it dates to the mid-4th century. The Low Ham mosaic is unique in Roman Britain in providing a narrative story in five panels. First is a scene of Aeneas sailing to Carthage, with Achates lifting from a ship the crown described as a gift to Dido in "Aeneid" Book I. The next shows Aeneas meeting Dido, with his son Ascanius and his mother Venus. There follow
Political commentary of the Aeneid the repetition of the past of civil war but to remember and repeat it in order to conquer their problems in support of his new reign of the empire. The "Aeneid" was written during a period of political unrest in Rome. The Roman republic had effectively been abolished, and Octavian (Augustus Caesar) had taken over as the leader of the new Roman empire. The "Aeneid" was written to praise Augustus by drawing parallels between him and the protagonist, Aeneas. Virgil does so by mirroring Caesar with Aeneas and by creating a direct lineage between Aeneas and Augustus. Aeneas is the