Chapter Choice of Subject, Literary, Predecessors and Sources of The Aeneid - Study Guide by Virgil

Therefore, to see the Aeneid simply as an imitation of the epics of Homer is to neglect the influence that the rest of the literature of the Greek and Roman worlds prior to Virgil had on him. The poet's supreme skill is demonstrated in his ability to synthesize all these influences into the coherent whole that his poem is.