Virgil the Wise. Genesis of a Myth

The image of Virgil the Wise presupposes the identification of Virgil as a Latin Homer. This operation was probably first performed by Neo-Platonic commentators, who attributed to Virgil the omniscience and applied to him the allegorical interpretations already proposed by Pseudo-Plutarch and Heraclitus for Homer’s epics. In the fifth century, the Neo-Platonic approach was adopted by Macrobius, while Servius did not recognize Virgil as a Platonist, but confirmed his image as omniscient and wise

Art · Epistemology · Literature · Mythology · Omniscience · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · Philosophy