Os Lusíadas (or The Lusiads) is an epic poem written by Luís Vaz de Camões. Released in 1572, it was written to celebrate the voyages of explorer Vasco da Gama and shows his voyages and his discovery of a new sea route.
Characters[]
- Vasco da Gama
- Paula da Gama
- Thetis
- Neptune
- Venus
- Jupiter
- Bacchus
- Mars
- The Siren
- Veloso
- Adamastor
- The Old Man of the Restelor
- The king of Melinde
- The king of Mombassa
- The emperor of Malabar
Publisher's summary[]
First published in 1572, The Lusiads is one of the greatest epic poems of the Renaissance, immortalizing Portugal's voyages of discovery with an unrivalled freshness of observation.
At the centre of The Lusiads is Vasco da Gama's pioneer voyage via southern Africa to India in 1497-98. The first European artist to cross the equator, Camoes's narrative reflects the novelty and fascination of that original encounter with Africa, India and the Far East. The poem's twin symbols are the Cross and the Astrolabe, and its celebration of a turning point in mankind's knowledge of the world unites the old map of the heavens with the newly discovered terrain on earth. Yet it speaks powerfully, too, of the precariousness of power, and of the rise and decline of nationhood, threatened not only from without by enemies, but from within by loss of integrity and vision.
See also[]
| Title | Author | Release date | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Aeneid | Virgil | 19 BC | Another epic poem with similar themes of exploration and cultural identity |
| Don Quixote | Miguel de Cervantes | 1605, 1615 | Another major work of Iberian literature |
| The Forbidden Kingdom | J. Slauerhoff | 1931 | A novel based on the life of Camões |
| The African Woman | Eugène Scribe and Giacomo Meyerbeer | 1865 | Another work based on the voyages of da Gama |