Roman Writers

Lucretius-

Lucretuis' epic, "On the Nature of the Universe" was meant to show people that superstition and death were nothing to fear. He said that once your body died, your soul ceased to exist, meaning that you could not miss being alive. He also thought that all superstitions could be explained by natural causes, and that it was not the gods interfering. He killed himself, although the cause and the time are uncertain. His work was released without being edited because of his death.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucretius

Catallus-

Catallus started the form of poetry that is now most teen songs… angry love poems. He wrote about a woman who he called Lesbia (her real name was Clodia Metelli) and about the four stages of their relationship; extreme happiness, problems, breaking up, feeling lost without her. He set the stage for many poems and lyrics today, with his 116 carmina, 60 short poems, 8 long poems, 7 hymns, 1 epillion and 48 epigrams. He was very open about his life through poetry, and bore his soul to all that read it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catallus

Cicero-

Cicero had two main works, but under odd circumstances were they considered "worthy of being preserved". The church granted Cicero the ability to be a rightful pagan, so most of his works, "On the Republic" and "On the Laws" was able to be recreated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicero#Works

Caesar-

Caesar is not very well known as an author now, but he was in his time. He published commentaries on the Gaelic, Civil, Alexandrine, African, and Hispanic Wars. He also had a huge variety of other works, but they were lost. He had a simple writing style, but through his eloquent ways he made his writing sophisticated and elegant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar

Nepos-

Although he is not seen as a great author, Nepos had a variety of works published. Chronica, which was published in three books. Exemplorum libri, De Viris Illustribus, De Vita Ciceronis, Epistulae ad Ciceronem, and De Historicis were examples of his other works. Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae is the only one that has survived.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_Nepos

Publilius Syrus-

Although he started his life as a slave, Syrus was freed because his master saw potential as a writer and wanted him educated. He was given a prize by Caesar for acting in one of his plays as a mime. The only one his written works left is Senteniae, a kind of moral code through stories.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publilius_Syrus

Virgil-

Virgil had 3 major works that he is well known for; the Eclogues , the Georgics and the Aeneid. He also had many poems that he had written, but aren't widely recognized such as Culex (The Gnat). He wrote the Bucolics in honor of the inventor of the epic short poem, Theocritus. He also wrote an epic called Georgics. He was working on the Aenid in the last 10 years of his life, and when Virgil died from a fever, his friend told his publishers to publish his poem, regardless of his wish that in the event of his death, his poem would be burned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil

Horace-

Horace was the inventor of many phrases that people think when you say, "Latin". One of them was, "Carpe diem"- "Seize the day". He wrote The Epistle to the Pisones, Song of the Ages, Odes I-IV , and many more. He grew up as the son of a freedman, and was educated. He joined the army, serving under Brutus, until he ran away. He was stripped of all possessions and money after his father died, but became an official of the Treasury so that he could write poetry. When he died, he left his estate to Augustus, a close friend of his.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace

Livy-

Most of Livy's work has been lost, but from the fragments that remain, we can see what books he wrote. They were called the Chronographia and the Chronikoi Kanones. Most of the dates regarding Livy are conflicting, so we don't know very much about him or his works.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livy

Propertius-

Propertius wrote 4 books of poems, totaling about 92 poems. He always wrote about a woman that he called "Cynthia", and the feelings that he went through thinking about her. He even called his first book

Cynthia Monobiblos. He put his thoughts of love and jealousy in these books, and in a way, is putting his soul in it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propertius

Ovid-

Having been married three times and divorced twice, it is no wonder that Ovid was famous for writing about love and seduction. The first book in his series "The Amores" held 15 poems. He also wrote the epic "Metemorphoses". Augustus exiled Ovid, where he died many years later. We don't know why he was exiled to this day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovid

Seneca-

Although some consider him a hypocrite, much Roman literature from the Medieval Age is due to him. He wrote nine tragedies, which scholars argue were intended to be read or to be acted out. He also wrote twelve philosophical essays, a satire, a meteorological essay, and one hundred twenty-four letters arguing his stands on moral issues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca

Petronius-

Petronius was a very relaxed guy, always hanging out and having a good time. He wrote allusions in about Nero's rule. Through jealousy from the commander of the emperor's guard, he was going to be put on trial for treason, but killed himself instead.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronius

Quintilian-

Quintilian wrote a 12 volume series called Institutio Oratoria, which dealt with theory. He researched and used many other sources, so it was not very original. He also thought that all parents and teachers of children should be well educated. He also had many fans, Martin Luther and Petarch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintilian

Martial-

Martial wrote epigrams about problems with living in Rome. He was not afraid to critisize anything or anyone, which earned him respect. He was very frank and direct, and I think that it takes courage and talent to be so open with your feelings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial

Pliny-

Pliny wrote his first tragedy when he was 14. He also wrote lots of poems, which were his favorite form of writing. Many of his letters were published after he had died, especially his letters to Trajan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Younger

Tacitus-

Tacitus' two most recognized works were the Annals and the Histories. They were originally supposed to be a 30 volume set, but they ended up both being half of the story of Augustus' death. He also had some minors pieces of writing, like Germania and Agricola.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus#Major_works

Juvenal-

Juvenal was famous for his satires, in which he filled 5 books. He did not complete his 16th satire for his 5th book. The satires could be very long, 695 lines, to very short, 130. He obviously had range and enjoyed poking fun at people, which is something a writer should always have a little bit of!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juvenal#The_Satires_and_their_genre