Epitome

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…

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.…

Life Titus Maccius Plautus was born in Umbria before 250 BCE. He supposedly emigrated to Rome to start up a shipping business and write plays on the side to earn extra…

Life Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, known in English as Pliny the Younger or Minor to distinguish him from Pliny the Elder, his uncle and adoptive parent after his father passed away. Pliny…

Life Lucius Accius was born around 170 BCE in Pisaurum to a freedman. His early life is unknown, though he purposefully steered clear of a legal career. He pioneered the…

Life Annaeus Seneca, often called Maior (“the Elder”) to differentiate him from his more popular son Seneca the Younger, was born in Corduba, Hispania (mod. Cordova, Spain) in the middle of…

Life Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (in English mostly as Quintilian, but also incorrectly spelled Quintillian or Quinctilian) was born around 35 CE at Calagurris in Hispania (now Calahorra, Spain). His works…

Life Gaius Valerius Catullus was born in Verona into a fairly prominent equestrian family. Jerome records that he was born in 87 BCE and died in his thirtieth year (which,…