Catull lived in a time of transition (around 84-54 BC), at the end of the Roman Republic. He was influenced by Hellenistic poetry, but despite various thematic and formal echoes, his characteristic individuality, his irreverent yet delicate, "modern" tone is evident in all his significant poems. It is no wonder that he found many secret imitators in European literature and continues to attract new young readers for over 2000 years.