Marcus Terentius Varro
Who was Marcus Terentius Varro?
Roman scholar, polymath and author (116–27 BC)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Marcus Terentius Varro (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BC) was a Roman scholar, military officer, and prolific author, considered one of the most learned figures of ancient times. Born in Rieti, a Sabine town northeast of Rome, he lived through the last century of the Roman Republic and saw its shift to an Empire under Augustus. Varro wrote more than 600 books on topics like grammar, agriculture, philosophy, and history. His reputation was so great that Petrarch later called him "the third great light of Rome," placing him alongside Virgil and Cicero in importance to Roman culture.
Alongside his scholarly work, Varro also had a political and military career. He served as a praetor and supported Pompey in the civil wars against Julius Caesar. Although he was on the losing side, Caesar pardoned him and even tasked him with organizing Rome's first public library, recognizing his unmatched knowledge of Greek and Roman literature. After Caesar's assassination, Varro successfully navigated the tricky politics of the Second Triumvirate, although Mark Antony briefly put him on a proscription list in 43 BC.
Only three of his many works remain mostly intact today: "De lingua Latina" (On the Latin Language), "De re rustica" (On Agriculture), and parts of "Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum" (Antiquities of Human and Divine Affairs). His book on agriculture became a go-to reference for Roman farming and stayed influential into the medieval period. "De lingua Latina" is one of the earliest detailed studies of Latin grammar and etymology, preserving important details about old Roman language and customs.
Varro married Fundania, but not much is known about their personal life. In his later years, he focused on writing and scholarship with the support of Augustus. He died in Rome at 89, having seen the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. His passing marked the close of a significant period of Roman intellectual achievement, unmatched until the Renaissance's revival of classical learning.
Before Fame
Varro was born in Rieti, a small Sabine town absorbed into Roman territory, into a family without much wealth. He likely followed the standard Roman education, studying rhetoric and philosophy, and possibly spent time in Athens or Rhodes, like many young Romans who finished their education there. During the late Roman Republic, there were many opportunities for educated men to succeed through military service and literary achievement.
The political turmoil of the first century BC created a need for scholars who could preserve Roman traditions and organize knowledge clearly. Varro's generation experienced the Social War, slave revolts, and civil conflicts that threatened traditional Roman culture. His antiquarian work was particularly important to his contemporaries who wanted to understand their heritage.
Key Achievements
- Authored over 600 books covering grammar, history, philosophy, agriculture, and religion
- Created the first systematic study of Latin grammar and etymology in 'De lingua Latina'
- Appointed by Julius Caesar to organize Rome's first public library
- Preserved extensive knowledge of Roman religious practices and antiquities
- Established agricultural principles that influenced farming practices for over a millennium
Did You Know?
- 01.He wrote a work called 'Hebdomades' containing 700 biographical portraits of famous Greeks and Romans, one of the earliest illustrated biographical collections
- 02.Varro invented a system for calculating leap years that was more accurate than the Julian calendar reform
- 03.He owned a villa at Casinum where he conducted agricultural experiments that informed his farming treatises
- 04.Mark Antony's soldiers destroyed his library during the proscriptions, but Varro had already distributed copies of his major works
- 05.He was still writing new books at age 87, completing his final work on agriculture just two years before his death