Horace was born in the small Italian town of Venusia. His father used to be a slave, but was known as a freedman because his master had freed him. They moved to Rome a short time later. Horace's father had a job taking items from the seller to the buyer. He received money from these sales. His father became richer and was able to send Horace to the best schools in Rome. He was also able to send him to Athens (Greece) to study the Greek language and philosophy. Horace's native language was Latin. Horace was incredibly proud of his father, and said he felt no shame in being the son of a freedman.