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[German version] This name was given to the author of a hexameter version of the first 7 books of the Bible, which was falsely ascribed to  Cyprianus in a 9th-cent. manuscript. The poem, probably written in Gaul in the early 5th cent., is the longest (over 5,700 verses) of the Biblical epics from late antiquity. An exception to this metre consists in three hendecasyllablic sections, which correspond to Biblical cantica. Originally, the poem was significantly longer than its current form and included all historical books of the OT (manuscript catalogues refer to …

Oscan praenomen ( Egnatius [I 3]). Attested as a Roman nomen gentile from the 2nd cent. BC. The most important holder is the seven-time consul M. [I 1]; the prominent Imperial-period Spanish bearer of the name, M. [II 3], is probably a descendant of family members of that Marius. I. Republican Period [German version] [I 1] M., C. Seven-time consul, victor over Jugurtha and over the Cimbri and Teutoni, opponent of Sulla The seven-time consul; victor over Jugurtha and over the Cimbri and Teutoni. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] A. The rise to political prominence Born c. 157 BC…

[German version] The C. (394 hexameters), which in MSS is attributed to  Hilarius of Poitiers or  Marius Victorinus, originates from an unknown author and an unknown period, most likely from the 5th cent. AD. It recounts the death of a mother and her seven sons at the hands of Antiochus, king of Syria (2 Macc. 7; 4 Macc. 8-18). The poem celebrates the unconquerable will of the mother in a series of speeches, which constitute the bulk of the text.  Bible poetry Roberts, Michael (Middletown, CT) Bibliography Edition: R. Peiper, CSEL 23,240-254. Secondary literature: D. Kartschoke, Bibeldi…

[German version] (167 hexameters, attributed to  Tertullianus or  Cyprianus [2] in the MSS) belongs to a group of pseudonymous biblical poems normally dated to the 5th cent. The poem comes from the same pen as  De Iona , the content of which it extends; it tells the story of Lot and Sodom's destruction following Gen. 19,1-29. The poet uses mythological and geographical motifs (particularly a comparison with the Phaeton myth and curiosities about the Dead Sea).  Biblical poetry;  De Iona Roberts, Michael (Middletown, CT) Bibliography Edition: R. Peiper, CSEL 23, 212-220. Bibliography:…

[German version] I. Greek Biblical poetry (BP) started with the early church poetry of hymns and psalms that were part of devotional service. Extensive biblical quotations or poetic paraphrases mark the origin of BP. Then as later, it is impossible to separate literary from liturgical poetry. Thus the heirmós (εἱρμός) Χριστὸς γεννᾶται, for example, is taken from the beginning of a  homily of  Gregorius of Nyssa (PG 36, 312ff.). The  kontakion, developed in Constantinople around 500, marks the high point of BP. One of the leading figures for t…

[German version] [1] Military tribune in the army of Vespasianus in Iudaea Military tribune in the army of Vespasianus in Iudaea. in AD 67, following the conquest of Iotapata, he was instructed to convince Iosephus [4], the leader of the Jewish army, to surrender to Vespasianus, but proved unsuccessful (Jos. BI 3, 344f.). Eck, Werner (Cologne) [German version] [2] Curator aedium sacrarum in AD 214 Senator. Curator aedium sacrarum in AD 214 (CIL VI 36899 = ILS 452). His nomen gentile was probably Max[imius]. PIR2 M 436. Eck, Werner (Cologne) [German version] [3] P. of Milan Secretary to…

[German version] The term Prince's mirror (PM), used to describe a literary genre that provides a code of conduct for rulers, originated in the Middle Ages with Godfrey of Viterbo's Speculum regum ( c. AD 1180); however, guidelines for rulers - whether explicit in direct address or implicit in the form of idealized portraits of kings and noblemen - are attested in Egypt and Mesopotamia as early as the 2nd millennium BC. Hesiod's ‘ Theogony not only contains myths that resemble their predecessors in the Near East, but also an encomiastic portrayal of the god/king Zeus,…

[German version] (105 hexameters) belongs to a group of pseudonymous biblical poems, presumably from the 5th cent. (the MSS attribute them to  Tertullianus). It comes from the same pen as  De Sodoma the content of which its opening part extends by a comparison of the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah with that of Niniveh. The poem follows the narration in Jon 1,1-2,1 with a poetically perfect description of a storm at sea. The last verses describe Jonah in the belly of the sea monster, which is interpreted as a symbol for Christ's d…

[German version] (204 hexameters), falsely ascribed in the MSS to  Hilarius of Poitiers, is dedicated to Pope Leo I (440-461). After a hymnic introduction, the largest part of the poem tells the creation story; a short conclusion reports the fall of man, the flood, and the prospects for redemption. The portrayal of nature shows the influence of  Lucretius,  Vergilius (esp. Georgica) and the cosmogony in Ov. Met. 1.  Biblical poetry Roberts, Michael (Middletown, CT) Bibliography Editions: R. Peiper, CSEL 23, 231-239.