Horace died on 27 November 8 BCE in Rome, aged 56. A Roman lyric poet in the age of Augustus, Horace was the son of a freed slave and rose through education in Rome and Athens, fighting on the losing side at Philippi before being pardoned. Befriended by Virgil, he gained the patronage of Maecenas, who gave him a farm in the Sabine hills. He wrote the Odes, the Satires, the Epistles and the Ars Poetica, works distinguished by polished form and a philosophy of moderation, as in his famous phrases carpe diem and the golden mean. His influence on European poetry, from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment, has been immense.
Before and after
- from 18 BCE to 660 CEBaekje
- 12 BCEOrigins of Pyramid of Cestius
- 1 August 10 BCEBirth of Claudius
- 9 BCEOrigins of Ara Pacis
- 27 November 8 BCEDeath of Horace
- c. 4 BCENativity of Jesus
- 4 BCEConstruction of Ise Jingū
- from 1st century BCE to 5th centuryCaucasian Albania
- 1st millennium BCEPublication of 2 Maccabees
More in Art, literature & culture
- 26th century BCEThe Great Sphinx
- c. 1,752 BCECode of Hammurabi
- c. 430s BCEHerodotus writes the Histories
- c. 20 BCEVirgil's Aeneid is published
- 48 CEPublication of Epistle to the Galatians
- 325 CEFirst Council of Nicaea
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 1st century BCE.