1998 is the quincentenary of Vasca da Gama's voyage via southern Africa to India, the voyage celebrated in this new translation of one of the greatest poems of the Renaissance. Portugal's supreme poet Camoes was the first major European artist to cross the equator. The freshness of that original encounter with Africa and India is the very essence of Camoes's vision. The first translation of The Lusiads for almost half a century, this new edition is complemented by an illuminating introduction and extensive notes.