The Eclogues & Georgics

Virgil (70 BC–19 BC), translated by Kline, A.S., (contact-email)

Virgil’s Eclogues, also known as the Bucolics, is his earliest major work, comprising ten pastoral poems. Adapting Greek bucolic traditions, specifically those of Theocritus, Virgil imbued his Roman rendition with both political and mythical narratives. Set during Rome’s chaotic period of around 44 to 38 BC, these poems diverge from Theocritus by incorporating political unrest. The text features herdsmen engaging in dialogues and competitive singing within pastoral scenes, reflecting both resistance and adaptation to societal changes and varied romantic experiences. Successful on stage, Virgil’s blend of politics and love established his fame. The Eclogues employ dactylic hexameter, maintaining Virgil’s consistent poetic style.

The Georgics, written by Virgil in 29 BCE, is a Latin poem in four books, totalling 2,188 hexametric lines. The work is a detailed treatise on the agricultural practices of its time. Despite its pastoral subject, the poem is imbued with thematic and existential contrasts. Serving as Virgil’s intermediary piece between the Eclogues and the Aeneid, it synthesises a range of earlier works and has left a substantial imprint on subsequent literature. The astronomical references are to the visible heavens at that period, these being subject to subsequent precession of the equinoxes, meaning that Virgil’s references do not completely apply to contemporary times.

Author Details

Publius Vergilius Maro, known simply as Virgil or Vergil, was a prominent ancient Roman poet during the Augustan period. He was born on 15 October 70 BC, possibly in the village of Andes near Mantua in Cisalpine Gaul. His father, belonging to gens Vergilia, was possibly a landowner of modest means. Virgil’s mother was from gens Magia. Educated in Cremona, Mediolanum (Milan), Rome, and Naples, he initially considered a career in rhetoric and law but eventually turned to poetry.

Virgil composed three significant Latin literary works: the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the Aeneid. The Eclogues, written around 42 BC, are ten pastoral poems inspired by the Greek poet Theocritus. They include various themes such as the effects of land confiscations in northern Italy, pastoral and erotic elements, and mythological narratives. The Georgics, a didactic poem on agriculture, was written after the Eclogues, under the patronage of Maecenas, an ally of Octavian (later Augustus). This work, dedicated to his patron, covers topics such as farming, tree cultivation, animal husbandry, and beekeeping.

Virgil’s most famous work, the Aeneid, was composed over the last eleven years of his life (29–19 BC). This epic poem, consisting of 12 books, recounts the mythical journey of Aeneas, a Trojan prince, and the establishment of his realm in Italy, and is considered the greatest heroic epic of ancient Rome. It blends themes from Homer’s works, with Roman and Augustan actualities.

Virgil died on 21 September 19BC in Brundisium after falling ill whilst on a trip to Greece. Posthumously, his works, especially the Aeneid, were a major influence on Western literature, including Dante’s Divine Comedy, where Virgil is Dante’s guide in the Inferno.

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Kline, A.S.,

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