About
Publius Vergilius Maro, known as Virgil, was born in 70 BCE near Mantua in northern Italy. Educated in Cremona, Milan, and Rome, he studied rhetoric, medicine, and mathematics, completing his studies in Naples. A protégé of Maecenas, an adviser to Augustus, he joined the imperial circle. His first work, the Eclogues (42-37 BCE), pastoral poems imitating Theocritus, was followed by the Georgics, a didactic poem on agriculture, completed before 29 BCE. His masterpiece, the Aeneid, a national epic in twelve books, was left unfinished at his death in 19 BCE. On his deathbed, he ordered its destruction, but Augustus overruled and had it published. His influence on Western literature is immense, from Dante to T.S. Eliot.
Major works
- Eclogues (Bucolics) (37)collection of pastoral poems
- Georgics (29)didactic poem
- Aeneid (19)epic
Key milestones
- 49Becomes a Roman citizen.
- 19Dies at Brundisium; Augustus has the Aeneid published against the poet's wishes.
Themes
Pastoralism and rural lifeAgriculture and working the landDestiny and the founding of RomeHeroism and pietyWar and peace
Sources: britannica.com · oxfordre.com · oxfordbibliographies.com