Beethoven's Symphony no. 3, Op. 55, also known as the Eroica (Italian for "heroic"), is a work marking the full arrival of the composer's "middle-period," a series of unprecedented large scale works of emotional depth and structural rigor. Completed in 1804 and performed the following year, it is widely regarded as a mature expression of the style of the late eighteenth century that also exhibits defining features of the romanticism of the nineteenth century. Beethoven had originally conceived of dedicating the symphony to Napoleon, seeing him as an embodiment of the Revolution's ideals. However, after his self proclamation as Emperor he tore up the dedicated score.
