Virgil
(70 B.C.–19 B.C.)

Emperor Caesar Augustus' goal was to create a unified Rome with a culture rich in tradition. In the area of literature, Augustus found his empire lacking a national epic that detailed Roman history and promoted national pride. The emperor greatly desired such a work, and the great poet Virgil was the one to remedy the deficiency. Virgil spent the last eleven years of his life creating Rome's national epic and the greatest single work of Latin literature, the Aeneid.

Virgil grew up in a Rome torn apart by civil war. Marc Antony, a factional leader, confiscated Virgil's farm in 41 B.C. and gave it to his soldiers as a reward for service. Soon afterward, Octavian, later to become Caesar Augustus, came to power and returned to Virgil his land. Virgil went on to become the official poet of the empire and produced many works, but none as masterful as the Aeneid, whose beauty of language and style became a benchmark for writers of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

A  |  B  |  C  |  D  |  E  |  F  |  G  |  H  |  I  |  J  |  K  |  L  |  M
N  |  O  |  P  |  Q  |  R  |  S  |  T  |  U  |  V  |  W  |  X  |  Y  |  Z