Horace : A Life

The work of the great Roman poet, Horatius Flaccus (65 BC to 8 BC), spanned all aspects of Roman life--politics, the arts, religion, and the authority of the emperor--while his legendary poems ( Satires, Odes, Epistles ) about friendship, philosophy, love, and sex still have considerable appeal. This biography presents a complete picture of Horace's life and world. It considers the details of Horace's romantic liaisons and why he never married, what the status of his father--a freedman--meant to the poet, and his distinctive brand of philosophy. In this acclaimed biography, Peter Levi, a fellow poet, has produced a thrilling and eminently readable book, the definitive account of Rome's greatest poet and the times during which he lived.