October 15 70 BCE – Roman Poet Virgil is Born

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*Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons In the north of Italy, far from the bustling capital of the Roman Empire, one of the greatest poets in classical history was born on October 15, 70 BCE. Coming to prominence during the reign of Octavian, Publius Vergilius Maro — commonly called Virgil — would go on to write Aeneid, an epic poem detailing the founding of Rome and masterpiece of Western literature. Very little is known of the young writer’s upbringing. During the era he was born, the region was a Gallic province — it did not become part of Roman Italy until Virgil was 29. Thus, historians do their best to surmise his origins based on his name, still coming up with a number of potential lineages from all over the northern and western Empire. Once thing can almost be certain, however: his father had enough financial security to send him out for an education in nearby Cremona, as well as the more cosmopolitan cities of Mediolanum (modern Milan), Naples and Rome itself. Though he displayed an aptitude for a variety of subjects, he followed his passion of philosophy. In his mid-20s, he settled in Naples to join Siro the Epicurean. Here, according to tradition, he began composing poetry, though the few examples attributed to him from the time are difficult to verify at best. From there, he moved on to publish the Eclogues, a collection of ten Greek-style poems modeled on Theocritus’ work from the 3rd Century BCE. Describing the difficulty of losing land to Octavian’s armies (the Emperor had claimed his family’s estate as a reward for his soldiers) in a veiled manner, Virgil touched on themes important to the agrarian lifestyle of the region and created a sense of romance for its simplicity that is still understood today. His work soon caught the eye of those affiliated with Octavian, who were attempting to build support for the triumvir in his conflict with co-leader Marc Antony. Continuing to write focused on the farming lifestyle, he produced the Georgics sometime around 29 BCE. Longer than his previous effort and well-received, Virgil’s best work was yet to come. High on the list of important works in ancient literature, near the Epic of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamia and Iliad and Odyssey by Homer, Virgil’s Aeneid will be found. Stretching across twelve books, it took him the final ten years of his life to write. Covering the legend of Rome’s founder, Aeneas, from the sack of Troy to his ultimate victory over King Latinus’ army and duel with Rutulian King Turnus for the crown of Rome, Virgil stirs the heart of the Empire with an homage to its spirit and sense of greatness. Though he died before completing the work, contemporaries seem to have regarded it as a singular achievement of unsurpassed quality. Well after the fall of Rome, the poet remained required reading throughout the Middle Ages, serving as a source of inspiration for a variety of works. Though cited by many of the authors of the time, Virgil most famously turns up as a character guiding the protagonist through the lower realms in Dante’s The Divine Comedy. Also On This Day: 1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte begins his exile on Saint Helena 1844 – German philosopher Friedrich Nietzche is born in Rocken bei Lutzen, Prussia 1951 – The first episode of I Love Lucy airs on CBS 1969 – Some 250,000 people gather in Washington, DC for the Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam 2003 – Shenzhou 5, China’s first manned space mission, lifts off