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Virgil was born on October 15, 70 B.C.E., in Northern Italy in a small village near Mantua – probably but not certainly the modern Pietole. Virgil was no Roman but a Gaul – the village was situated in what was then called Gallia Cisalpina - Gaul this side of the Alps. Publius Vergilius Maro, or Virgil, grew up to be hailed as the greatest Roman poet. And although his work has influenced Western literature for two millennia, little is known about the man himself. His father was a prosperous landowner, described variously as a "potter" and a "courier", who could afford a thorough education for the future poet. This Virgil received. He attended school at Cremona and Mediolanum (Milan), then went to Rome, where he studied mathematics, medicine and rhetoric, and finally completed his studies in Naples. He entered literary circles as an "Alexandrian," the name given to a group of poets who sought inspiration in the sophisticated work of third-century Greek poets, also known as Alexandrians. In 49 BC Virgil became a Roman citizen. Lucretius influenced his way of thinking, but his early poems were written in the tradition of Theocritus.
MODERN SCHOOL CLASSICS Macmillan St. Martins Press 1969. Small book, binding good, clear clean pages, previous owner's name scratched out on first page, 13 illustrations.
