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Marcus Terentius Varro
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<p>Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman <a href="/facts/Polymath/eqIfjQRu">polymath</a> and a prolific author. He is regarded as <a href="/facts/Ancient_Rome/cGqIuxPd">ancient Rome</a>'s greatest scholar, and was described by <a href="/facts/Petrarch/sbLMjk0u">Petrarch</a> as "the third great light of Rome" (after <a href="/facts/Virgil/K9zjwwHS">Virgil</a> and <a href="/facts/Cicero/A37U7jaN">Cicero</a>). He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus ('Varro of Rieti') to distinguish him from his younger contemporary <a href="/facts/Varro_Atacinus/ESohxbCR">Varro Atacinus</a>. </p>