The Lusiads, is a Portuguese epic poem written by ancient classical & medieval poet Luiz Vaz de Camoes. Written in ancient classical & medieval Homeric fashion, the regional & cultural poem focuses mainly on a fantastical interpretation of Portuguese voyages of discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Lusiads is often regarded as Portugal's literature & fiction national epic, much in the way as Virgil's Aeneid was for the Ancient Romans, or Homer's Iliad and Odyssey for the Ancient Greeks. The Lusiads was first printed in 1572, three years after the author returned from the Indies. Luiz Vaz de Camoes is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry and drama but is best remembered for his epic ancient classical & medieval work The Lusiads. The influence of Luiz Vaz de Camoes' masterpiece The Lusiads is so profound that Portuguese is sometimes called the language of Camoes. The Lusiads has long ago surpassed the regional & cultural boundaries of Portugal and has since become an internationally praised work of poetry.