Virgil
Virgil is generally acknowledged as the greatest of all Latin poets. He was famous in his own lifetime and was the first poet in the history of Latin literature to be the subject of lectures given by a contemporary teacher. There seemed to be a great deal of interest in him and on his rare appearances in Rome he was pointed out in the streets as if he were a celebrity. However, in his private life he was know to be very shy, and preferred the quiet countryside to the chaos of Rome. He was born as Publius Virgilius Maro in Andes, a small village, near Mantua (Mantova), Italy on October 15, 70 BC. He had two brothers; Silo, who died in his childhood, and Flaccus, who lived to be a young man. Virgil's father, a potter and cattle farmer, worked hard to provide his son with an Aristocratic education. After he completed his studies in Cremona and Milan, Virgil went to Rome to study law and rhetoric at Epidius' academy. It was in Rome that he met Gaius Maecenas, a Roman statesman and patron of the arts, who saw Virgil's great potential and sponsored his education. In addition, he developed a friendship with Octavian, who later became Emperor Augustus. While in Rome, he studied alongside many prominent poets including Gaius Cornel
ius Gallus, Horace, and Lucius Varius Rufus. After leaving Rome, Virgil went to Naples to study under Siro. There he studied philosophy and also became a member of a group of Epicurean thinkers outside Naples. This group gathered in Campania, at a retreat known as "the Garden", under the leadership of Siro, Virgil's teacher and friend. Originally, Virgil wanted to study law but he gave up after pleading only one court case and devoted himself to philosophy and literature. He spent most of his life in the countryside of Campania, but kept a house on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, which was given to him by his friend and patron Maecenas. stures, farms and rulers". This became a touching summary of his three great works. Virgil wrote three major works in his lifetime. Early in his career he wrote the Ecologues, a book of 10 pastoral poems. This was followed by the Georgics, a didactic poem on farm life. His last and greatest work was the Aeneid, a mythological epic poem describing the seven-year wanderings of the hero Aeneas. Virgil's first major work was composed between 42 and 37 BC. This was a ten book pastoral poem know as the Eclogues, or Bucolics. It was modeled on the Idylls of Theocritus, an Alexandrian poet. Virgil's emphasis is on graceful rhymes and the description of a romantic setting in northern Italy, but he also added many realistic details such as, his father's eviction from his farm due to political seizure. The most famous of The Ecolouges, The fourth celebrates the birth of a child who is destined to usher in a new Golden Age of peace and goodwill. Critics have made definite connections between Virgil's fictional characters and real people. Some have suggested that the divine birth refers to Mark Anthony, or possibly Virgil's friend Octavian, who became Augustus, Rome's first emperor. Still othe
Some topics in this essay:
Days Virgil's,
Italy Aeneas,
Africa Dido,
Plotius Tucca,
,
Theocritus Alexandrian,
Augustus Ceasar,
Maecenas Virgil,
Brundisium Italy,
Italy October,
mythological epic,
aeneid mythological epic,
seven-year wanderings,
describing seven-year,
aeneid mythological,
19 bc,
italy aeneas,
varius rufus,
divine birth,
describing seven-year wanderings,
aeneid written,
hero aeneas,
Join now to see the rest of the essay!
Approximate Word count = 1238
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
More Essays on Virgil
Professional Papers: |
CUSTOMER SERVICES
|
|
Saved Papers
You haven't saved any papers.
|
Example Essays Home
