Virgil
<p ><b>Publius Vergilius Maro</b> (<small>Classical Latin: </small><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Latin" title="Help:IPA for Latin" >[ˈpuː.blɪ.ʊs wɛrˈgɪ.lɪ.ʊs ˈma.roː]</a>; October 15, 70 BC – September 21, 19 BC), usually called <b>Virgil</b> or <b>Vergil</b> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English" >/ˈvɜrdʒɨl/</a> in English, was an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome" title="Ancient Rome" >ancient Roman</a> poet of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustan_literature_(ancient_Rome)" title="Augustan literature (ancient Rome)" >Augustan period</a>. He is known for three major works of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_literature" title="Latin literature" >Latin literature</a>, the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclogues" title="Eclogues" >Eclogues</a></i> (or <i>Bucolics</i>), the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgics" title="Georgics" >Georgics</a></i>, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_poetry" title="Epic poetry" >epic</a><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneid" title="Aeneid" >Aeneid</a></i>. A number of minor poems, collected in the <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendix_Vergiliana" title="Appendix Vergiliana" >Appendix Vergiliana</a></i>, are sometimes attributed to him.
Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. His <i>Aeneid</i> has been considered the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_epic" title="National epic" >national epic</a> of ancient Rome from the time of its composition to the present day. Modeled after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer" title="Homer" >Homer</a>'s <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad" title="Iliad" >Iliad</a></i> and <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey" title="Odyssey" >Odyssey</a></i>, the <i>Aeneid</i> follows the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_War" title="Trojan War" >Trojan refugee</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneas" title="Aeneas" >Aeneas</a> as he struggles to fulfill his destiny and arrive on the shores of Italy—in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_mythology" title="Roman mythology" >Roman mythology</a> the founding act of Rome. Virgil's work has had wide and deep influence on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_literature" title="Western literature" >Western literature</a>, most notably <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante" title="Dante" class="mw-redirect" >Dante</a>'s <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy" title="Divine Comedy" >Divine Comedy</a></i>, in which Virgil appears as Dante's guide through hell and purgatory.</p>