Page "Catullus" Paragraph 9

There survives no ancient biography of Catullus: his life has to be pieced together from scattered references to him in other ancient authors and from his poems.

Thus it is uncertain when he was born and when he died.

St. Jerome says that he died in his 30th year, and was born in 87 BC.

But the poems include references to events of 55 and 54 BC.

Since the Roman consular fasti make it somewhat easy to confuse 87 – 57 BC with 84 – 54 BC, many scholars accept the dates 84 BC – 54 BC, supposing that his latest poems and the publication of his libellus coincided with the year of his death.

Other authors suggest 52 or 51 BC as the year of the poet's death.

Though upon his elder brother's death Catullus lamented that their “ whole house was buried along ” with the deceased, the existence ( and prominence ) of Valerii Catulli is attested in the following centuries.

T. P.

Wiseman argues that after the brother's death Catullus could have married, and that, in this case, the later Valerii Catulli may have been his descendants.