Juvenal's (D.) life is less well-known. Iunius Iuuenalis) than previously thought - a vital source, an inscription mentioning one Iunius Iuuenalis, relates to a later descendant, not the satire - and the evidence that exists is woefully insufficient. Much of it is based on Juvenal's own writings. Historians know the family originated in Aquinum, a town in Latium near modern-day Monte Cassino. One ancient Life suggests a birth year of AD 55.

Another claim is that until his middle age, Juvenal practiced rhetoric as a hobby rather than a job, implying a private income. The first volume of the Satires was not published until c. The poem is plainly the product of an impoverished and enraged man who has come down in the world - a hanger-on of affluent clients with a chip on his shoulder - but the particular circumstances of Juvenal's fall from grace remain unknown. All of the biographies agree that he was exiled for an indiscreet mockery of a Court favorite's Read More chevron_right

Juvenal's (D.) life is less well-known. Iunius Iuuenalis) than previously thought - a vital source, an inscription mentioning one Iunius Iuuenalis, relates to a later descendant, not the satire - and the evidence that exists is woefully insufficient. Much of it is based on Juvenal's own writings. Historians know the family originated in Aquinum, a town in Latium near modern-day Monte Cassino. One ancient Life suggests a birth year of AD 55.

Another claim is that until his middle age, Juvenal practiced rhetoric as a hobby rather than a job, implying a private income. The first volume of the Satires was not published until c. The poem is plainly the product of an impoverished and enraged man who has come down in the world - a hanger-on of affluent clients with a chip on his shoulder - but the particular circumstances of Juvenal's fall from grace remain unknown. All of the biographies agree that he was exiled for an indiscreet mockery of a Court favorite's appointment-making.

But they disagree over where he was sent and which emperor was to blame, and Juvenal never mentions it. Several people question whether he was ever exiled. If he was, it was probably certainly Domitian, who reigned from c. Egypt is number 93.

In any event, he must have been deprived of his inheritance. After Domitian's assassination in 96, it's fair to presume he was called back. Hadrian appears to have bought a modest estate at Tivoli and a residence in Rome following his accession. His most recent and unfinished (or largely lost) collection was published around the year 2000.

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