Vergilius

Publius Vergilius Maro, usually known simply as Vergilius in Latin or Virgil in English, is one of the major figures of Roman poetry. He lived in the late Republic and early Empire, traditionally dated from about 70 BCE to 19 BCE. He is best known for shaping Latin epic and pastoral poetry and for his association with the Augustan era.

Vergilius was born near Mantua in northern Italy. His early education took place in Cremona and Rome, where he studied Greek and Latin literature, rhetoric, and philosophy. He cultivated connections with literary circles favorable to Augustus and the political climate of his time, while maintaining a personal profile as a poet of rural and moral themes.

His major works are the Eclogues (Bucolics), the Georgics, and the Aeneid. The Eclogues are a collection of pastoral poems that explore country life and poetry’s relation to landscape and memory. The Georgics is a didactic poem on agriculture, rural life, and practical knowledge. The Aeneid is an epic in twelve books that tells the story of Aeneas and the founding of Rome, written to harmonize classical epic tradition with Augustan ideology and Roman destiny.

Vergilius died in Brundisium (Brindisi) in 19 BCE, before the Aeneid was finished, and tradition says he wished it burned; Augustus reportedly decided to publish it with minimal revisions. His Latin style, technical mastery, and the moral and political dimensions of his work had a lasting influence on Western literature. The Latin form of his name and his enduring legacy are central to the study of classical poetry, and he remains a touchstone for the term “Vergilian” in literary criticism.