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When did Virgil die?

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Ancient Roman mosaic showing the poet Virgil seated and writing, flanked by the muses Clio and Melpomene, displayed in a decorative border. — Virgil Virgil (centre) holding a scroll with a quotation from the *Aeneid* and flanked by the muses Clio and Melpomene, mosaic, early 3rd century ce; in the Bardo National Museum, Tunis, Tunisia.

The Roman poet Virgil died on September 21, 19 BCE, in Brundisium, Italy.1

He had fallen ill with a fever while traveling to Greece to continue work on his epic poem, the Aeneid. Although he returned to Italy, he passed away shortly after his arrival. According to legend, he requested that his unfinished masterpiece be destroyed, but this wish was overruled by the emperor Augustus.2