As the first light of 3 March 1812 dawned, 24-year-old Lord Byron had little idea what awaited him. Though the first two cantosSections of a poem. of his epic poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage had just been published, he had no great hopes for it. But, as he later wrote, "I awoke one morning and found myself famous."

That was putting it mildly. According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, "He rapidly became the most brilliant star in the dazzling world of Regency eraA British era of history that lasted from 1811 to 1920, when George, Prince Regent, was the temporary king of Great Britain. London."

The poem tells of a young man, weary of his reckless and dissolute life, who wanders across Europe, casting a melancholy eye on its wonders. Harold is widely accepted as the archetypeA typical example. of the brooding Romantic hero, cursed but deeply attractive. Byron's influence has been felt ever since, in characters from Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights to Edward Cullen in Twilight.

This year is the 200th anniversary of Byron's death, which is being marked by many events in his honour. They include a high-powered conference at Newstead Abbey, Byron's ancestral home near Nottingham, which opens on Friday.  

Byron was undoubtedly a great poet. His work ranges from sublime lyrics such as So, We'll Go No More A-Roving to the hilarious satire Don Juan. But he owes his fame just as much to his scandalous and heroic life.

George Gordon Byron had a difficult childhood. He was born with a club footWhen a baby is born with a foot or feet that turn inwards. , and was sexually abused by his Scottish nurse. Though his mother came from a rich family, his father abandoned her after spending all her money.

But at 10, thanks to a cousin's unexpected death, George became Lord Byron. He inherited Newstead Abbey and was educated first at HarrowAn area of London, as well as a public boys school founded in 1572. and then at Cambridge University.

He grew into a handsome and popular young man, but gained a reputation for wild living. When he returned from the Grand TourA traditional trip through Europe taken by upper-class European men in the 17th to 19th Centuries when they in their early twenties. and published Childe Harolde's Pilgrimage, few doubted that the hero was based on himself.

Though his literary reputation grew swiftly, so did scandalous rumours about him. He had an extraordinary number of affairs, including a tempestuous one with Lady Caroline LambAn Anglo-Irish novelist and aristocrat, born in 1785. , who described him as "mad, bad and dangerous to know".

He was accused of mistreating his wife Annabella and having an incestuous relationship with his half-sister Augusta. He was also bisexualSexually or romantically attracted to both men and women. at a time when gay relationships were highly illegal. In 1816 he felt forced to leave England for ever.

Politically, he was a passionate liberal. One cause which particularly appealed to him was independence for Greece, which had been part of the Ottoman EmpireAlso known as the Turkish empire, a huge empire that spanned southeast Europe, West Asia and north Africa from the 14th to early 20th Centuries. for nearly 400 years. In 1823 he set off to join the Greek freedom fighters, only to die of fever a few months later.

In Greece he is remembered as a hero, with many streets named after him.¹ Though he never fought in a battle, he donated a great deal of money to the rebels, and played a key part in winning them international support.

Can a villain also be a hero?

Yes: Almost everyone has two sides to them, one admirable and the other less so. Byron's scandalous love life does not make his poetry or his support for Greek independence any less impressive.  

No: A hero is someone who leads a noble life and whose example others strive to follow. Byron's shameful treatment of women means that he is completely unsuited to be a role model and is best forgotten.

Or... Byron deserves our sympathy more than our disapproval. His club foot was a great burden to him and his mistreatment by his nurse obviously accounts for his difficult relationships with women.