Biography on Vergil

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Vergil-A Roman PoetPublius Vergilius Maro also known as Vergil was one of the greatest Roman poets in the world. He was born in the tiny village of Andes in Northern Italy in about 70 B.C. According to ancient sources, his father was either a potter or a messenger and his mother most likely came from a wealthy family because they were able to provide him with a good education.

When Vergil became a young man he studied in the northern cities of Milan and Cremona before completing his education in Rome, where he studied rhetoric and other subjects. Before coming a poet, Virgil wanted to have a political career as a senator but he became interested in poetry after meeting friends of the poet Catullus.

Vergil’s first book of poetry was, the Eclogues, which appeared around 36 B.C. After he published the Eclogues, he moved to the coastal city of Naples, just south of Rome. He considered the city of Naples his home much throughout his life.

After he completed his second book called the Georgic, around 29 B.C., Vergil started to work on the Aeneid, which the Romans considered their national poem. Approximately 10 years later he visited Greece and on his way back home from Greece he became very ill and died in the southern Italian city of Brundisium. He was buried near the walls of Naples, according to legend and wrote his own epitaph as he lay on his deathbed:Mantua produced me,Calabria ravished me,Naples keeps me now.

I have sung of pastures, fields, and leaders.

He was 41 when he died and was remembered by the Romans for his awesome pieces of work. His life was drawn to the art, literature, and culture of Greece and also the simplicity it carried along. Vergil is someone people must not forget and is a historical hero.

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