Roman poet Virgil was one of the greatest literary figures in history and Ancient Rome's greatest poet. He is best known for his work, Aeneid, a sequel to Homer's epic poem, the Iliad. The Divine Comedy, masterpiece of Italian poet Dante Alighieri, was guided by Virgil, mainly on the tour of Hell.
Early Life of Virgil
Virgil was born on October 15, 70 BC, near the city of Mantua in northern Italy where his family owned a small farm. It's not surprising that his rural childhood left him with a lifelong passion of the countryside that he often expressed in his brilliant poems.
In Virgil's lifetime the Roman Republic, which was a form of government that had ruled the Roman people for centuries, broke down. Augustus, then Octavian, became the first Roman emperor. During this time, there was an enormous social and political change in the Roman world. Augustus was responsible for reallocating lands, and unfortunately, Virgil's father was one of the losers.
The Roman Poet
Virgil and other poets, including Horace, tried to write new works that reflected their excitement and high hopes for the future of the Roman people.
In his first work, the Eclogues, he presented the rural charm of the Greek poet Theocritus. Further, he included a piece of update concerning an imperial baby so Messianic at that point in time.
Virgil was proud to demonstrate that Rome had become the new centre of the world and that the Roman language, Latin, had replaced Greek as the language of learning and culture. When he was 41, he completed the Georgics, a long poem in four books about farming life. It was inspired by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod's Works and Days, which was regarded as a great classic even in Virgil's time.
Virgil's Last Years and Aeneid
Virgil spent the last 10 years of his life composing his greatest work, the Aeneid. He died at the age of 50, Sept 21, 19 BC. Aeneid was written at the request of the emperor, who wanted an epic poem for the Romans that would rival Homer's poem, the Iliad. The Aeneid is a sequel to the Iliad, and in many ways provided the sources for Aeneid. Its 12 books tell the story of Aeneas, a survivor of the Trojan Wars who becomes the founder of Rome. It became one of the most influential works in European literature.
Works by Virgil
- The Eclogues or Bucolics, 42 - 37 BC
- The Georgics or Art of Husbandry, 29 BC
- The Aeneid, 19 BC
Sources:
Cambridge Guide to Literature in English by Ian Ousby. CUP, Cambridge, 1993
Chambers Biographical Dictionary, edited by Una Mcgovern, Chambers Harrap, Edinburgh, 2002
The A-Z of Great Writers by Tom Payne, Carlton, 1997
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