Lucilius

Catherine Keane (Washington University St. Louis)

Ed. by William John Dominik, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (The American University of Paris)

Dates

Born c. -180
Died c. -102
Activity c. -160-c. -102

Places

Born in Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire)
Active in Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire)

Activities

Primary

Poet
Satirist

Resources

Lucilius is regarded as the first Roman verse satirist and the model for Horace, Persius, and Juvenal. A major figure in Latin literary history, he composed thirty books of satiric poems; these were widely read in antiquity, but subsequently survived only in the form of quotations (fragments) amounting to about 1300 lines. Lucilius is notable for his irreverent social and political criticism, fluent poetic style, and distinctive authorial voice.

Lucilius came from Suessa Aurunca (Juvenal Satire 1.20), a town in southwest Italy where his family probably owned land. Jerome gives his birth date as 148 BC (Chronicle pp. 143e and 148e Helm). Because Lucilius is also reported to have served in a military campaign i…

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2677 words

Citation: Keane, Catherine. "Lucilius". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 October 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2813, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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