Varus in Eclogue 6

Varus, to whom Eclogue 6 is addressed:

P. Alfenus Varus was a leading statesman and army officer. Born in Cremona, he was the first Cisalpine to gain a consulship in 39 BC. In 41, Varus and his companions habitually confiscated land and money in northern Italy for distribution to veterans. He may have even aided Virgil in regaining his land. Having studied law under Ser. Sulpicius Rufus, Varus was a successful jurist and composed 40 books of "digesta", or ordered legal abstracts.

Since the exploits of Alfenus Varus were, according to Clausen, hardly a fit subject for epic celebration, late antique readers often identified Varus as P. Quinctilius Varus (consul in 13 BC with many political ties to Augustus. He was then legate of Syria, then of the Rhine army, where in 9 AD his army was defeated and he took his own life).