Ancient Roman Poets Who Were Most Famous

In ancient Rome, there were several creative discoveries; society thrived with arts, science, and politics. Literature emerged finally from ancient Rome, scribed with metals and inks on Papyrus in the Latin language. Poetry is the commencement of literature and it was popular during ancient Rome as well, and the works of this period sustained to influence writers of later ages. In this article, we are going to read about the ancient Roman poets who were most famous.

Virgil

Of all the Roman poets, Virgil is the most celebrated and known poet. His poem The Aeneid is considered the national epic of ancient Rome. He weaved real history and fantasy with Greek mythology and created the adventure of Aeneas as he fight his path through monsters and gods and horrifying storms on his way to find out that Rome is crammed up with adventures. This influenced centuries of artists and writers, most notable Divine Comedy of Dante. Other poems of Virgil that had a notable role in the culture of ancient Rome are the Georgics and the Eclogues/Bucolis.

Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso, popularly known as Ovid is one of the greatest poetic writers of ancient Rome. The most celebrated work of Ovid is Metamorphoses. It is a long verse text which retold the ancient Roman and Greek legends and highly contributed to the literary arts. During the Renaissance period, some notable artists such as Titian, the Pollaiuolo brothers, and Poussin thrived with their creative art and immortalized his text through their work of art. Other notable works of Ovid that are popular are Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love) and Fasti, which are based on the structure of the pagan Roman almanac.

Horace

Quintus Horatius Flaccus is another notable writer of ancient Rome. Horace was a contemporary of Virgil. During his time he was addressed as one of the most inventive and authentic lyricists. His notable work was his Odes, which is a series of four books that explores several themes such as courage, hymns to gods, and love. He also jotted down seventeen poems called Epodes which talk about love, satire, and politics. He even composed several songs with a comical inclination. His writing style was renewed during the Renaissance period by numerous scholars including Dante and Petrarch.

Lucretius

Roman philosopher and poet Titus Lucretius Carus is only known for one long series of didactic poems named De Rerum Natura, which means On the Nature of Things. De Rerum Natura is divided into six long books and it discusses language and metaphor, poetics, physics, and goes onto a discussion about the betterment and development of the world. He primarily emphasized the rational laws of nature, and the notion that deities are not the creator of the universe even he believed that they existed. Ancient Roman critics considered his work as a threat to religious faith, which earned an infamous reputation during his time. But his book was later on adopted by atheists as a manual which would have been disappointing for Lucretius as he was a religious man.

Catullus

Gaius Valerius Catullus wrote entertaining and short poems for ancient Roman that concentrated on intimate tales, and personal encounters. This was contrasting and very unlikely of ancient Roman writings which focused on historical tales and epics, which is why it makes Catullus a known ancient Roman writer. His works reveal several personal things about him, most notably his friendship with the popular Julius Caesar. Catullus works talk about friendship, love, and sexuality during the time of liberal politics and sexual freedom. His poems offer a light-hearted reading as it contains humour, humanity, and satire.

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