Born a peasant, Virgil was raised on a farm before being educated in the Greek and Roman authors. His rural upbringing influenced all his poetry, especially his earlier work, like the “Eclogues”.

He adds that these verses in Purgatorio convey like no other the tragedy (from Dante’s point of view) of Virgil’s life. As great as he was, he missed the mark; he famously prophesied a virgin ...

The poet Virgil observed ... war.” The Roman Republic swallowed much of Europe, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. The Empire then ruled the conquered lands and people by two axioms ...