Roman poet. Born c. 180 BCE, died c. 102 BCE.
Gaius Lucilius was a wealthy citizen, part of the younger Scipio's circle of friends. According to tradition, he was the founder of the satire as a lterary genre.
The satires of Gaius Lucilius, written in hexametric verse, caricatures Roman daily life and social mores, and contain stinging personal attacks on prominent Romans. Only fragments survive of Lucilius' poetry, which became the model for the later works of satirists such as Horace and Juvenal.