Ovid
Life Publius Ovidius Naso, known in English as Ovid, was an eminent Latin poet, especially regarded by both ancient and modern critics alike for his many elegies on love and…
Ennius
Life Quintus Ennius was born in 239 BCE at Rudiae (now Rugge) in Calabria (now Apulia). Growing up in a region heavily mixed with both Greek and Italian cultures, Ennius…
Gallus
Life Gaius Cornelius Gallus, son of Gnaeus Cornelius Gallus, was a Roman equestrian born in 69 BCE at the Forum Iulii (modern Fréjus) in Gallia Narbonensis. Cicero mentions him in Ad…
Cato the Elder
Life Marcus Porcius Cato, born in 234 BCE, was a prominent Roman politician during the Punic Wars, and is often referred to as Censorinus (the Censor) or Maior (the elder),…
Velleius Paterculus
Life Unlike most other minor authors of the period, Velleius Paterculus relates a bit about his own life. He does not say much about his early life, but he came from…
Curtius Rufus
Life No ancient author mentions a Quintus Curtius Rufus who wrote a history of Alexander the Great, but the manuscripts of Historiae Alexandri Magni name him as the author. Most scholars today, though,…
Lucan
Life Marcus Annaeus Lucanus was born in Corduba (Cordova), Hispania into the very prominent Annaei family, which included his uncle, Seneca the Younger, and grandfather, Seneca the Elder. His birth was recorded as being Nov.…
Julius Caesar
Life Gaius Iulius Caesar, future dictator of Rome, conqueror of Gaul, and arguably the last ruler of the Republic, was born into an aristocratic family the Iulii at Rome on…
Calpurnius Siculus
Life Titus Calpunius Siculus was a bucolic poet of the Neronian age. Nothing else is known about him, though some have tried to link him to (or tried to claim…
Lucretius
Life Very little is known about Titus Lucretius Carus except as an author of a single work, a poem on Epicureanism. Nothing is mentioned of his birth, life, or death.…