Best known for his epic poem, “The Aeneid”, Virgil (70 – 19 BC) was regarded by Romans as a national treasure. His work reflects the relief he felt as civil war ended and the rule of Augustus began.

The first great poet after Rome’s clear emergence as the classical superpower, Lucretius presents a problem–what we might call the anxiety of influence–for all the Augustan Golden Age poets: Horace, ...

Gorgeous pageants, tempestuous rejoicings in every city of the land, honored Italy’s No. 1 Virgil (Publius Virgilius Maro) on the 2,000th anniversary of his birth (TIME, May 5). Last week Italy faced ...