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
Parallels between Virgil's Aeneid and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey Hector in Book II that he was to leave burning Troy to found a new city. Throughout the rest of the epic, the gods include reminders that Aeneas is destined to find Italy and found Rome for future generations. Another thing Virgil replicates from the "Iliad" is the ekphrasis of Aeneas' shield. In Book VIII of the "Aeneid", Vulcan (the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Hephaestus) forges a shield for Aeneas before he goes into battle. This is similar to Hephaestus creating Achilles' shield in Book XVII of the "Iliad". Both of the goddesses who mothered the heroes (Venus