The Poem

Although Catullus is today considered the greatest lyric poet of ancient Rome, very little is known about his life. He was born to a well-to-do family in Verona and lived during the same time as did the statesmen Caesar, Pompey, and Cicero–all of whom he knew. They and others are addressed by him in his poems, works that show an intense capacity for love, hate, and insult. Only 113 poems have survived. Of these, 57 are short poems, ranging in length between five and 25 lines, except for one of 34 lines. There are eight longer poems of from 48 to 408 lines in four different meters. The collection closes with 48 epigrams, brief poems of two to 12 lines. The most memorable of Catullus’ work consists of his love poems in honor of Lesbia, whose real name was Clodia. His poetry strongly influenced poets of the following century: Virgil and Horace imitated him, and Ovid and Martial praised and commemorated his work.

Excerpted from The Complete Reference Collection Copyright © 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.