The weapons and barons marked, That from the western Lusitana beach, By seas never sailed before.
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.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. 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.
