The Aeneid is an epic poem written in 12 books and is modeled in part on the great Greek epic poems, on Homer's Iliadand Odyssey, and on Apollonius' Argonautica. The Iliad describes the exploits of Achilles and other Greek heroes in the Trojan War (the same war which forced Aeneas to leave Troy and is described in Book II of the Aeneid) whilst the Odyssey describes how Ulysses (or Odysseus in Greek) wandered for many years, trying to return home after the Trojan War. The first six books of the Aeneid parallel the Odyssey because they describe Aeneas' search for a home. Aeneas even stops in many of the same places that Odysseus did. There is an important difference, however, for whilst Odysseus was trying to return to his original home, Aeneas must find a new place in which to settle and make his home. The second six books parallel the Iliad, for they describe the war in Italy just as the Iliad describes the Trojan War. Again, there are many parallels. For example, the Trojans are besieged inside their fort in Italy just as they were trapped inside Troy. But again there is an important difference, since the Iliad describes how the Trojans lost the war and Troy fell but in theAeneid the Trojans win the war in Italy and get the chance to build a new city. Virgil imitates many scenes from both the Iliad and the Odyssey in his epic, but he always changes them in significant ways so that they illustrate his own Roman themes. One of the most important differences between Homer's epics and the Aeneid is that it can be read as a patriotic poem whilst the Iliad and the Odyssey are poems about individuals and their adventures.

The Odyssey (Greek: Ὀδύσσεια Odýsseia] in Classical Attic) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The Odyssey is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second-oldest extant work of Western literature; the Iliad is the oldest. Scholars believe the Odyssey was composed near the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal region of Anatolia. The poem mainly focuses on the Greek hero Odysseus (known as Ulysses in Roman myths), king of Ithaca, and his journey home after the fall of Troy. It takes Odysseus ten years to reach Ithaca after the ten-year Trojan War. In his absence, it is assumed Odysseus has died, and his wife Penelope and son Telemachus must deal with a group of unruly suitors, the Mnesteres (Greek: Μνηστῆρες) or Proci, who compete for Penelope's hand in marriage.

The Iliad (sometimes referred to as the Song of Ilion or Song of Ilium) is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. The Iliad is paired with something of a sequel, the Odyssey, also attributed to Homer. Along with the Odyssey, the Iliad is among the oldest extant works of Western literature, and its written version is usually dated to around the 8th century BC. Recent statistical modelling based on language evolution gives a date of 760-710 BC.