Virgil

(Publius Vergilius Maro; 70-19 BCE)

   Considered the most important poet of the ancient Roman era, Virgil was born in a small village near Mantua to a well-to-do family of landowners. He was educated in Cremona, Milan, and Rome, where he studied medicine, mathematics, law, and rhetoric. Civil disturbances in 49 BCE forced Virgil to flee from Rome to Naples, and there he studied with the Epicurean philosopher Siro and began his career as poet. He composed his Eclogues in 39 BCE and the Georgics 10 years later, both on the rustic life. With Emperor Augustus' backing, he wrote his greatest masterpiece, the Aeneid, an epic poem intended to build upon Homer's Iliad and Odyssey that combined history and mythology, which proved to be a major source for artists. Virgil died while journeying to Greece when he caught a fever that proved fatal.