Virgil and the AeneidThis third-century mosaic from the prosperous Roman city of Hardrumentum in North Africa shows Virgil holding a copy of his great epic poem and flanked by two Muses. The Muses, nine in all, were minor Greek and Roman goddesses who were thought to inspire artists and writers. The female Muses’ role as inspiration, not authors, accurately reflects surviving Latin literature of the Augustan period, all of which, except for a few fragments, is by male authors. (C. M. Dixon/Ancient Art & Architecture Collection)