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Why was the Aeneid unfinished when Virgil died?
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Virgil
Virgil (centre) holding a scroll with a quotation from the Aeneid and flanked by the muses Clio and Melpomene, mosaic, early 3rd century ce; in the Bardo National Museum, Tunis, Tunisia.
The Aeneid remained unfinished at the time of Virgil’s death in 19 BCE because he had not yet completed his final revisions of the epic. Having already dedicated 11 years to the work, Virgil planned to spend an additional three years refining the poem, specifically traveling to Greece to obtain local color for sections set in Greek waters.12
During this journey, he contracted a fever and died shortly after returning to Italy. At the time of his passing, approximately 60 lines of the poem remained unfinished. According to historical accounts, Virgil’s dying wish was for the manuscript to be burned; however, this request was overruled by the emperor Augustus, ensuring the survival of what would become Rome’s national epic.3145