The course is an introduction to the rich tradition of Latin epic, and to the study of allusion as a literary technique. We will focus on the motif of the descent to the underworld, from Vergil to late antiquity (Claudian) and the renaissance (Petrarch, Vida), with particular emphasis on Vergil's account of Aeneas' journey to consult the shade of his father, and the epic of the early empire (Lucan, Statius, Silius). The pace is designed to allow students to build skills in reading Latin epic poetry.