Avienius

Template:Short description Template:Dmy Template:Distinguish Postumius Rufius Festus Avienius<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire vol. 1 p. 336</ref><ref>Rita Lizzi Testa, Senatori, popolo, papi: il governo di Roma al tempo dei Valentiniani (Bari, 2004), p. 274</ref> (or Avienus<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>) was a Latin writer of the 4th century AD. He was a native of Volsinii in Etruria,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> from the distinguished family of the Rufii Festi.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Avienius is not identical with the historian Festus.<ref>Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity, "Avienius", p. 187</ref>

Background

Avienius made a free translation into Latin of Aratus' didactic poem Phaenomena. He also took a popular Greek poem in hexameters, Periegesis, briefly delimiting the habitable world from the perspective of Alexandria, written by Dionysius Periegetes in a terse and elegant style that was easy to memorize for students, and translated it into an archaising Latin as his Descriptio orbis terrae ("Description of the World's Lands"). Only Book I survives, with an unsteady grasp of actual geography and some far-fetched etymologies: see Ophiussa.

He wrote Ora Maritima, a poem claimed to contain borrowings from the 6th-century BC Massiliote Periplus.<ref name=Foster>Donnchadh Ó Corráin Chapter 1 "Prehistoric and Early Christian Ireland", in The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland, R.L. Foster, ed. (Oxford University Press) 2000 Template:ISBN</ref><ref name = AvienusOD>"Avienus, Rufus Festus" The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology, Timothy Darvil, ed.. (Oxford University Press) 2002</ref> Avienius also served as governor of Achaia and Africa.<ref>PLRE I, p. 336</ref>

According to legend, when asked what he did in the country, he answered Prandeo, poto, cano, ludo, lavo, caeno,Template:Typo help inline quiesco:

Template:CquoteHowever this quote is a misattribution and likely comes from the works of Martial.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Editions

• A. Berthelot: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Paris 1934. (text of reference)
• J. P. Murphy: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Description of the seacoast. (Chicago) 1977.
• J. Soubiran: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. CUF, Paris 1981. (text of reference)
• D. Stichtenoth: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Darmstadt 1968. (the Latin text is that of the editio princeps of 1488 and is better not cited)
• P. van de Woestijne: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Brugge 1961. (text of reference)

Commentaries, monographs and articles

• F. Bellandi, E. Berti und M. Ciappi: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. 96 - 139 e Avieno Arati Phaen. 273 - 352), Pisa 2001
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• {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Curavit Manfred WACHT. G. Olms Verlag 1995
• M. Fiedler: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Stuttgart Saur 2004
• C. Ihlemann: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Diss. Göttingen 1909
• H. Kühne: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Essen 1905
• K. Smolak: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. In: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
• D. Weber: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Dissertationen der Universität Wien 173, Wien 1986
• L. Willms {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} AKAN-Einzelschriften – Antike Naturwissenschaften und ihre Rezeption, vol. 8. Trier WVT 2014
• P. van de Woestijne: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. 1959
• H. Zehnacker: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Illinois Classical Studies 44 (1989), S. 317-329

Further reading

• Alan Cameron, "Macrobius, Avienus, and Avianus" The Classical Quarterly New Series, 17.2 (November 1967), pp 385–399.

External links

• Ortelius' bibliography: notes of cartographers
• Ora maritima and Periegesis in Latin, at The Latin Library
• Introduction and e-text of the "Description" (in French)
• English translation of Ora maritima by Ralph Morley (2018) in ToposText.org.