“The Lusiads” is the story of his journey, intertwined with classical mythology, fantastic elements, and episodes of Portuguese history. Portugal was a country of navigators, and one of its greatest explorers was Vasco da Gama, who became the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean, discovering a new sea route. At the height of the Renaissance, explorers set off to discover new horizons. (Public Domain) A Portuguese Epic Narrativeĭuring the 16th century, the world opened to exploration. A portrait of Luís Vaz de Camões, circa 1577, by Fernao Gomes. “The Lusiads” is one of the most important works of Portuguese literature and remains a national treasure to this day. It is viewed as Portugal’s national epic poem, in the same way that Homer’s “Iliad” or “Odyssey” is for the ancient Greeks and Virgil’s’ “Aeneid” for the ancient Romans. Written three years after the poet’s return from India, it narrates Vasco da Gama’s journey to India and celebrates the achievements of the Portuguese nation. Most Portuguese people know these opening lines of “The Lusiads” (“Os Lusíadas”), a Portuguese epic poem by Luís Vaz de Camões first published in 1572.
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