Tibullus

Related Category: Classical Literature: Biographies

(Albius Tibullus)(tĭbŭl´əs), c.55? B.C.–19 B.C., Roman elegiac poet, b. Pedum, near Praeneste. Probably of the equestrian order, he was a friend of Messala, whom he accompanied on campaign. A master of the Latin love elegy, Tibullus wrote two books of verse (concerned, respectively, with “Delia” and “Nemesis”—names symbolic of his loves) that were published during his lifetime; some doubtfully attributed posthumous pieces plus works by other poets constitute a third book.