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On this section are included some important and influential celebrities of the latin world in letters and sciences, in chronological order, excluding military and rulers, of which it is dealt with more frequency in other sections.
BEFORE CHRIST
Titus Maccius PLAUTUS, 251 BC-184 BC
Comic poet, who stood out for his wit and humor. In their works the endings always end satisfactorily. Born in Sarcina (Umbria), he died in Rome.
Quintus ENNIUS, 240 BC-170 BC
Poet. He was protected by Cato “the Censor“.
Marcus Porcius CATO (the elder), 234 BC-149 BC
POLYBIUS, 206 BC-122 BC
Greek historian and general before serving to Rome. Author of the General History, composed of forty books, of which only the first five have reached us. Considered one of the great Roman historians.
Publius TERENCE, 194 BC-159 BC
Comic poet. Author of many comedies, the six that have reached us are: Andria, The self-Tormentor, Phormio, Hecyra, Eunuchus, and Adelphoe. He was born in Carthage and as a child he was kidnapped by pirates. Purchased as a slave in Rome by Senator Terence Lucan, he received freedom and instruction from him.
POSIDONIUS, 135 BC-51 BC
Considered the greatest polymath of his time. This Syrian of Greek family, encompassed fields as diverse as history, politics, geography, astronomy and philosophy. His work is preserved in a fragmented way and through other authors.
Marcus Terentius VARRO, 116 BC-27 BC
Polygraph, companion of Cicero was considered the wisest man of his time, becoming also a legate of Pompey in Hispania.
Marcus Tulius CICERO, 107 BC-43 BC
Speaker, philosopher and politician, author of the Epistles, Catiline Orations and the Philipics. The most eloquent of the speakers, was named consul and disbated the conspiracy of Catilina, which earned him the name of “Father of the Nation”. He died murdered at 64.
Titus LUCRETIUS Carus, 96 BC-53 BC
Poet, author of the classic poem De rerum natura.
Marcus Porcius CATO (the younger), 95 BC-46 BC
Great-grandson of Cato the elder. Famous politician aligned with the optimates, the conservative faction of the Senate, which opposed with determination Julius Caesar and the triumvirate.
Gaius SALLUSTIUS Crispus, 86 BC-34 BC
Historian, creator of philosophical history.
Marcus VITRUVIUS Pollio, 80-70 BC-15 BC
Famous architect, author of the 10 books that make up De Architectura. In his youth he was the architect of Julius Caesar.
Publius VERGILIUS Maro, 70 BC-19 BC
Poet, considered as the prince of Latin poets, author of: The Georgics (dedicated to his benefactors: Emperor Augustus and Maecenas), The Aeneid (who could not finish), The Eclogues, and The Bucolic. For his talent he won the friendships of Augusto and Maecenas.
Quintus HORATIUS Flaccus, 65 BC-8 BC
Poet, for whom happiness was based on the moderate use of the goods of life. Author of many works, the most important: Odes, Epodes, Epistles, Satires and Poetic Art.
STRABO, 64/63 BC-19/24 AD
Geographer and historian of Greek origin. Author of the well-known Geography.
MARCUS ANNAEUS “the elder”, 55 BC-40 AD
Writer, of which only two incomplete works have arrived. Father of Seneca, was born in Cordoba and died in Rome.
Titus LIVIUS, 59 BC-7 AD
Roman historian who wrote a history of Rome from the beginning until 9 BF. Of his 142 books, only 35 have arrived until today. Despite his friendship with the Emperor Augustus, he showed fervor for the Republic. Author of the first known uchronie, where he imagines the destiny of a world in which Alexander the Great had decided to harvest conquests towards the West instead of the East.
Publius OVIDIUS Naso, 43 BC-17 AD
Poet, author of: Transformations, The Art of Love, The Festivals, and The Heroines. He died in exile in Ponto Euxine (Black Sea).
Marcus Gavius APICIUS, 25 BC-37 AD
Gourmet autor of the book of recipes De re coquinaria libri decem (the 10 cookery books), which constituted a manual of obligatory reference for several centuries and is considered the first of its kind in history.
Lucius Annaeus SENECA, 4 BC-65 AD
Hispanolatin writer (born in Cordoba), author of: De Ira, De Beneficiis, Providentia, Tranquillitate Animi, De Clementia, De Brevitate vitae, De Vita Beata. He is also the author of Greek tragedies in verse.
AFTER CHRIST
Lucius Junius Moderatus COLUMELLA, 4 AD-70 AD
Hispanic agronomist, considered as the most distinguished in his field. Author of De re rustica and De arboribus. He was born in Cadiz.
Gaius PLINY, Secundus “the elder” 23 AD-79 AD
Naturalist considered one of the most industrious sages in history. The only work that has come to us from his extensive work is Historia naturalis, a compilation of more than two thousand works. He was appointed quaestor and procurator of the Treasury in Baetica by the Emperor Vespasian in the year 73. He died asphyxiated by the sulfurous vapors of the Vesuvius volcano in 79.
Tiberius Catius Asconius SILIUS ITALICUS, 25/26 AD-101AD
Politician and poet. Author of Punica, epic poem about the Second Punic War.
Gaius PETRONIUS, 27 AD-66 AD
Writer and satirical poet, author of Satyricon, a novel of customs. He played an important role in the court of Nero, being declared “arbiter of elegance”.
Aulus PERSIUS Flaccus, 34 AD-62 AD
Poet of Etruscan origin and the equestrian order, who in his 6 satires criticizes the vices of the time of Nero from a stoic perspective.
Marcus Annaeus LUCANUS, 39 AD-65 AD
Poet, author of Pharsalia (poem that describes the victory of Caesar on Pompey). Born in Cordoba, he was Seneca’s nephew.
Marcus Valerius MARTIAL, 40 AD-104 AD
Poet, author of the Epigrams, born in Bilbilis, near the current Calatayud (Zaragoza).
Marcus Fabius QUINTILIANUS, 42 AD-118 AD
Hispanic rhetorician, author of the Institutes of Oratory about eloquence. Born in Calahorra, he was a lawyer and professor of oratory in the province of Tarraconensis, and died in Rome.
PLUTARCH, 45/50 AD-125 AD
Essayist and biographer of Greek origin, author of Parallel Lives (46 biographical works in which he compares a Greek and a Roman).
Publius Cornelius TACITUS, 55 AD-120 AD
Politician, speaker and one of the three great historians of Rome. Author of the Histories and the Annales. In other minor works he deals with subjects as varied as the Germanic peoples, the great General Agricola, or the orators.
APOLLODORUS of Damascus, 60 AD-133 AD
Of Syrian origin, he is the most famous architect of antiquity. Of clear Hellenic influence, he was the architect of Trajan, and built for the emperor his forum, his market, his baths, his famous column commemorating the conquest of Dacia, the Basilica Ulpia and especially a magnificent bridge over the Danube. He is also credited with the masterpiece of the pantheon of Agrippa.
Gaius PLINY, Caecilius Secundus “the younger” 61/62 AD-114 AD
Speaker and statesman, nephew of Pliny “the elder”. Letters is the most important work that has been preserved to this day, where Roman life is shown with mastery.
Lucius Annaeus FLORUS, II AD century
Poet and Hispanic historian.
Gaius SUETONIUS Tranquillus, 70 AD-41 AD
Historian, with Tacitus considered one of the greatest of his time. Author of treaties of all kinds, which for the most part have been lost. The most famous works that have reached us are: Rome (about the life of the Romans), Prata (a natural history), De Viris Illustribus (biographies of great writers), and the famous Lives of the twelve Caesars (compiled in eight books, almost complete preserved). Friend and protege of Pliny “the younger”, he was also military tribune and director of archives.
APPIAN 95 AD-165 AD
Historian of Greek origin. He wrote Roman history in Greek, from its foundation until the death of Trajan. Of the work only 10 complete books of the 24 that compose it are conserved. Native of Alexandria, he held a high position as an official in Egypt.
Lucius APULEIUS, 114 AD-184 AD
Greco-Latin writer, author of the novel: The Golden Ass.
Claudius GALENUS, 131 AD-210 AD
Doctor, the most famous of Antiquity after the Greek Hippocrates, author of the Natural Faculties, rational basis of the art of healing.
CASSIUS DIO, 155 AD-235 AD
Historian, politician and military. He wrote in greek the Roman history, which spanned 1,000 years, from the founding of Rome until the year 229 AD.
HERODIAN, 178 AD-252 AD
Official of the Empire that wrote in eight books the History of the Roman Empire after Marcus Aurelius, that included the period between the years 180 and 238. Revalued and exalted in the present arriving at the height of Cassius Dio. There are indications that he was a freedman of Greek or Eastern origin.
EUSEBIUS of Caesarea, 260 AD-341 AD
Writer and Bishop of Caesarea, author of the famous Ecclesiastical History.
Saint AMBROSE, 340 AD-397 AD
Author of religious writings. Father of the Church and Archbishop of Milan, who converted Saint Augustine to the Catholic faith.
Saint AGUSTINE, 354 AD-430 AD
Religious writer, author of: Confessions, The City of God, and Treaty of Grace. Considered the most illustrious of the fathers of the Church, he was born in Thagaste (Numidia), being at first faithful to the heretical Manichaeism he was converted by St. Ambrose to the Catholic religion. He became bishop of Hippo Regius, the place where he died.
Flavius VEGETIUS Renatus, IV-V AD century
One of the last great scholars of the Empire, who at the service of the Emperor Theodosius, and under his command, wrote the Epitoma rei militaris, a compendium of military technique unique in antiquity, which includes all the Roman military tradition, and praises old military customs.
Claudius CLAUDIANUS, 370 AD-405 AD
Poet of the court of Emperor Honorius. He stood out for his glorifying poems of Stilicho and Honorius: panegyrics, epithalamium, odes to military victories, etc.
Author: Eduardo Ortiz Pardina