Gaius Asinius Pollio (76-4 BC) was a significant figure in the political and military spheres during the Roman civil wars (49-29 BC) and Augustus’ principate (29 BC – AD 14). Pollio is also a regular presence in the literature of the period, not only as its subject, but also as a patron and an author in his own right. Of Pollio’s own writings very little now survives, but the influence of his
magnum opus, a history of the civil wars he fought in, was considerable.
Pollio’s origins were on the eastern coast of Italy, but when we first encounter him he is cutting a comfortable figure in sophisticated circles in Rome, acquainted with Catullus and C. Helvius Cinna, who addressed one of his most celebrated poems to him. During the civil wars he fought alongside Julius Caesar, and after
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Citation: Morgan, Llewelyn. "Gaius Asinius Pollio". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 October 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12483, accessed 13 December 2024.]