When was Juvenal born and when did he die?
Traditional accounts claim Juvenal was born around 55 CE and died sometime after the death of Emperor Hadrian in 138 CE. These dates lack definitive proof and remain speculative within modern scholarship.
Questions about Juvenal
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Where was Juvenal born and what is his full name?
The name Decimus Junius Juvenalis appears in a single inscription found at Aquinum while some biographies place his birthplace in that Volscian town. Other sources offer no location at all for this Roman poet who wrote during the early second century.
Did Juvenal write about exile or was it invented by later biographers?
No poem written by Juvenal mentions exile yet every surviving traditional biography includes it as fact. Some scholars think the idea of his exile is a later invention made up to show how much his works offended others.
What verse form did Juvenal use for his satires and which poets influenced him?
Juvenal wrote at least sixteen poems using the verse form known as dactylic hexameter. His approach follows Lucilius who originated the genre of Roman satire and fits within a poetic tradition shared by Horace and Persius.
When were Juvenal's first and fifth books published according to scholarly estimates?
One recent scholar argues that Juvenal's first book was published around 100 or 101 CE. A political figure mentioned in his fifth and final surviving book dates it to sometime after 127 CE.