The reliability of the texts from which Vergil's life is put together is questionable, as most come from texts of "reflective imagination" (Boyd, xiii). He was born Oct, 15 70 BCE around Mantua and traveled his way to Rome. Vergil was a known writer in the highest of social circles and academic circles. He died on Sept. 21 19 BCE in Brundisium and was buried at Naples (Boyd, xiv). The epitaph written oh his grave provided information that added to his biography. It reads: "Mantua gave birth to me, the Calabrians stole me away, Parthenope now holds me; I sing of pastures, plowlands and leaders." Vergil's work was realized as important immediately. He became instantly successful and his work became part of the educational curriculum. He was well-known and therefore, there were a few biographies written about him, one of the most famous being from Aelius Donatus, which is thought to be based on another biography from Suetonius (Stok, 112).
References:
Stok, Fabio. "The Life of Vergil Before Donatus: A Companion to Vergil's Aeneid and Its Tradition." Wiley:. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2013.
Weiden Boyd, Barbara. "Vergil's Aeneid: Selected Readings from Books 1, 2, 4 and 6." Bolchazy-Carducci: Illinois. 2012.
Suetonius' Life of Vergil has some great stories about him, including the omens before his birth that foretold his greatness. The URL is http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/suet-vergil.asp
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