Horace (65-8 B.C.) was one of the greatest poets of ancient Rome. He is most famous for Odes, a collection of short, songlike poems. Some are personal poems about love, friendship, and natural beauty. Others express Horace’s love for his country and his religion, using myths and tales of national heroes. See Ode .
Horace also wrote a more conversational kind of poetry called satires that make gentle fun of human weaknesses. The two books of Satires and a collection of odelike poems called Epodes are Horace’s earliest poetry. He later wrote verse letters to his friends about life and poetry. These letters make up the two collections called Epistles. See Satire ; Epistle .
Horace was born on Dec. 8, 65 B.C., in southern Italy. His full name in Latin, the language of ancient Rome, was Quintus Horatius Flaccus. His father, though a former slave, gave Horace an excellent education in Rome and Athens. Horace left his studies in Athens to join the army of Marcus Junius Brutus during Rome’s civil war. After Brutus was defeated in 42 B.C., Horace returned to Rome. He became a civil servant and began to write poetry. Gaius Maecenas, a wealthy patron of the arts, gave Horace an estate to support him so he was free to spend his time writing poetry. Horace died on Nov. 27, 8 B.C.
