section_path: Abstract
section_name: Abstract
paragraph_text: Publius Vergilius Maro (Classical Latin:; traditional dates 15 October 70 BC – 21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil (/ ˈ v ɜːr dʒ ɪ l / VUR -jil) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. A number of minor poems, collected in the Appendix Vergiliana, were attributed to him in ancient times, but modern scholars consider his authorship of these poems to be dubious.
  
  Virgil's work has had great influence on Western literature, most notably Dante 's Divine Comedy, in which Virgil appears as the author's guide through Hell and Purgatory. Virgil has been traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. Since its composition, his Aeneid has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome.