Virgil

Aeneid

Eleven years of labour and still unfinished at Virgil's death.

💡 Did you know? The „Aeneid“ was meant to give Rome a founding epic to rival the grandeur of Homer.

Aeneas

He flees burning Troy (his old father Anchises on his shoulders) and lays the foundation of Rome.

💡 Did you know? Aeneas flees burning Troy and becomes the legendary forefather of the Romans.

Dido

In the epic, her curse founds the later hereditary enmity between Rome and Carthage.

💡 Did you know? Dido's curse over Aeneas's betrayal was meant to foreshadow the later enmity between Rome and Carthage.

Eclogues

Their dream landscape Arcadia became the yearning-place of European poetry.

💡 Did you know? The „Eclogues“ made Virgil famous and created the image of a peaceful shepherds' paradise.

Arcadia

'Et in Arcadia ego': the motif wandered through painting and literature down to Goethe.

💡 Did you know? Virgil's „Arcadia“ became the eternal place of longing in European art and poetry.

Georgics

Four books on crops, trees, livestock and bees, for many his most perfect work.

💡 Did you know? The „Georgics“ celebrate farming so artfully that they are considered the most perfect Latin poetry.

Maecenas

His name still stands for generous benefactors: 'maecenas' in many languages.

💡 Did you know? The patron Maecenas's name became a common noun: a „maecenas“ still means a sponsor of the arts.

Augustus

The Julian house traced itself through Aeneas' son back to the goddess Venus.

💡 Did you know? The „Aeneid“ rooted Augustus's rule in divine descent: art in the service of power.

It was to be burned

Augustus ordered the dying wish to be ignored: a stroke of luck for world literature.

💡 Did you know? Virgil died in 19 BC at Brundisium, returning from a journey to Greece.

Hell and Purgatory

The Middle Ages revered the Roman almost like a prophet: but the pagan may not enter Paradise.

💡 Did you know? On his deathbed Virgil wanted the unfinished „Aeneid“ burned: Augustus forbade it.

Mantua

The city proudly calls itself 'Virgil's city' to this day, as a farmer's son he knew country life first-hand.

💡 Did you know? Dante chose Virgil of all poets as his guide through Hell and Purgatory, as an emblem of ancient reason.

Virgil

Virgil (70 to 19 BC) was the greatest poet of ancient Rome. His epic „Aeneid“ became the Romans' national epic and shaped European literature for centuries.

💡 Did you know? Virgil wanted the unfinished „Aeneid“ burned before his death: only Emperor Augustus's command saved it for posterity.