Vita G. Valerii Catulli
Gaius Valerius Catullus was born at Verona (in Cisalpine Gaul) in 87 B.C. Valerius came to Rome when he was young and for the most part it remained his home for the rest of his life. But he did lose lose touch with his home province, and visited home when his brother died. In Rome he became part of fashionable society and fell in love with a woman whom he calls Lesbia. Her real name was Clodia, and she was a married woman of some social position, and it is possible that she was some 10 years older than Catullus. Twenty-five of Catullus' poems are directed at her or have something to do with her. Many of his poems demonstrate sincere emotional extremes and embody his personal vendettas. The influence of his poems can be seen in Martial's epigrams as well as in Vergil's work.