Born a peasant, Virgil was raised on a farm before being educated in the Greek and Roman authors. His rural upbringing influenced all his poetry, especially his earlier work, like the “Eclogues”.

One of the blueprints for imperialism has always been The Aeneid, by the Roman poet Virgil, working between 29 and 19 BC. It tells the story of Aeneas, a Trojan leader on the run with his son ...