The Aeneid - Virgil

Imperial Rome needed an epic poem in the vein of the Homeric epics. Coming shortly after the fall of the republic and at the beginning of the empire it was a very important work for primus inter pares Augusts. which is a lens to keep in mind when reading it. For me that doesn't take away from the poem it adds to it. Most importantly, its very fun. The Robert Fagles translation is very good.