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[German version] A poet, criticized by his contemporary Virgil (ecl. 3,90) and ridiculed by Domitius Marsus in an epigram cited by Filagrius ad locum (Courtney, 301). Marsus reported that B. and his brother shared everything until one refused to give his wife to the other. A verse critical of Virgil (Courtney, 285) has at times been attributed to B., but this is probably based on mere conjecture. He died in 35 BC in Cappadocia (Jer. Chron. a. Abr. 1982).   Courtney, Edward (Charlottesville, VA)

[German version] [2] L. Pompeius Satyrist and freedman of Pompey Magnus Suet. Gram. 15 reports, aside from several romantic and improbable occurrences from the life of the young L., that he was a freedman of Pompeius Magnus, accompanied him on almost all his campaigns and after his death and the death of his sons (the last one died in 35 BC) earned his living as a school teacher in Rome. He remained so faithful to Pompey that he reacted to criticism of him in Sallustius' Historiae with an acerbissima satura, an extremely stinging satire, calling Sallust a monster both in his life an…

I Greek [German version] [1] Poet c. AD 500 Early Byzantine poet, contemporary of emperor Anastasius I (AD 491-518). According to Suda s.v. M., he originally was a descendent of a Roman family of senators, emigrated to Eleutheropolis in Palestine with his father and was a patríkios under Anastasius, composed iambic paraphrases of the works of Hellenistic authors ( Theocritus; Apollonius [2] Rhodius' ‘Argonautica; Callimachus' ‘Hecale, ‘Hymns, ‘Epigrams; Aratus [4]; Nicander's‘Theriaka). Possibly identical with M. [2]. Damschen, Gregor (Halle/Saale) Bibliography 1 J. Geffcken,…

[German version] Baehrens attributed the name to a Latin poem that abbreviates Homer's Iliad to 1,070 hexameters. It is quoted by  Lactantius [2] Placidus in regard to Stat. Theb. 6,114 (121) under the name of Homerus, which also appears in the titles of most of the early medieval MSS. Later it is attributed to Pindarus for unknown reasons. The only other trace of the I.L. from antiquity is the imitation by  Dracontius [3]. The prologue (= Il. 1,1-7) offers the acrostic ITALICPS, the (non-Homeric) epilogue SCQIPSIT. The latter can easily be amended into SCRI…

[German version] Improvized songs, sung at weddings, which fall into the category of quite commonly found apotropaic obscenity. The custom even continued in Christian times. The reason for the (unproven) etymological derivation of the name from Fescennia or -ium, a Faliscan town in southern Etruria, is unclear. An alternative derivation from fascinum (Paul Fest. 76; cf. 76, where he offers the form Fescemnoe) is linguistically impossible. Literary versions are found in  Catullus 61,119ff. (alluding to the bridegroom's previous homosexual relations), and also  Claudianus [2], De…

[German version] (or Actiaco) is the modern title for 52 hexameters in eight columns and some fragments on P Hercul. 817. It is improbable that  Rabirius was their author; they were more likely part of the Res Romanae by  Cornelius Severus. The poem deals with Octavian's Egyptian campaign after Actium, and Cleopatra's preparations for suicide. Courtney, Edward (Charlottesville, VA) Bibliography G. Ferrara, Poematis latini reliquiae, 1908 G. Garuti, Bellum Actiacum, 1958 Courtney, 334 R. Seider, Paläographie der lat. Papyri, vol. 2.1, 1978, 4 (for the papyrus) M. Gigante, Catal…

[German version] A boyhood friend of Ovidius, who was able to include T.'s name () in a letter to him only by playing with the actual syllable quantities (Ov. Pont. 4,12,10 f.,  cf. 4,14,1 f.). He appears to have translated the episode of the Phaeacians in the Odyssey into Latin (ibid. 4,16,27 with 4,12,27). Courtney, Edward (Charlottesville, VA)

[German version] [1] Author of an epic with the title Bellum Histricum Wrote an  epic with the title Bellum Histricum in at least 2 bks. of which 7 frs. are extant. It presumably concerned the war waged in 129 BC by C. Sempronius Tuditanus. The relationship between him and H. was probably like that between  Ennius [1] and Fulvius [15] Nobilior and the one between  Furius [I 7] Antias and Lutatius Catulus; the epic was doubtless of the panegyric type as was common in Hellenistic writing. Prop. 3,20,8 mentions the doctus avus of a girl with whom he had a relationship, and on the basis …

[German version] Author of an hexameter poem transmitted in the Codex Salmasianus (Anth. Lat. 253 = 247 Shackleton Bailey), which contains a collection of poems put together at the beginning of the 6th cent. AD in Vandal northern Africa. The poem's theme is the love between Ares (Mars) and Aphrodite (Venus) (related in Hom. Od. 8), but the episode is given a moralizing turn. In the end, Venus plans to take revenge on the sun, who has tricked her: she inflames Helios with love (a motif from Ov. Met…

(Κάρος, Κάκυρος; Káros, Kákyros). Celtiberian from Segeda, general of several Iberian tribes and towns that defeated the army of the consul Q.  Fulvius [I 17] Nobilior on 23/ 8/153 BC. The Roman prohibition of building a wall around Segeda caused the confrontation. C. was killed while pursuing the enemy (App. Ib. 45; Diod. Sic. 31,39; Flor. Epit. 1,34 [Megaravicus]).  Hispania Spickermann, Wolfgang (Bochum) [German version] [2] Poet friend of Ovid A poet friend of  Ovid (Pont. 4,13 is addressed to him; 3,5 in the Tristiae, where the identity of the respective addressees is con…

[German version] Under this name (which is also found in CIL 5,2793) Isid. Etym. 18,69 quotes two hexameters about stuffing a ball with stag hair. [1] identifies the author with an anonymous poet to whom Ovid (Tr. 2,485) refers in a listing of humorous didactic poems. Courtney, Edward (Charlottesville, VA) Bibliography 1 M. Haupt, Coniectanea, in: Hermes 7, 1873, 11-12 Opuscula vol. 3, 1876, 571 2 Courtney, 341.

[German version] Epic poet of the Augustan Period, friend of Ovid (Trist. 4,10,47). Propertius addresses Elegies 1,7 and 1,9, to P. as the author of a Thebais, achieving a contrast between erotic elegy and epic by representing P. as desperately in love. Courtney, Edward (Charlottesville, VA) Bibliography PIR2 P 785.

[German version] I. Ancient Near East The convention in ancient oriental studies is to maintain a distinction between epic and myth in so far as the protagonists of each genre are concerned, even though, in respect of genre theory and style, this remains difficult and contentious [1. 145-153; 2. 1-24]: in epic the actors are (heroicized) people, whereas myths inhabit the realm of the divine. Sumerian epic literature is woven around the legendary kings of the 1st dynasty of Uruk: Enmerkar, Lugalbanda a…

Name of an ancient Roman patrician lineage (on inscriptions also Fourios), derived from the praenomen Fusus and also occurring occasionally in the original form Fusius in the literary tradition; the family perhaps came from Tusculum (cf. the family grave of the Furii ILLRP 895-903). The numerous members of the gens from the early Republic in the 5th/4th cents. BC are scarcely tangible as historical persons, and their history is in part later annalistic invention. Most well known is the ‘Saviour of Rome’ after the catas…

[German version] Nomen gentile Name of a very old patrician line (more often written Aimilius), after which the tribus Aemilia, one of the oldest rustic tribes, is also named. Republican pseudo-genealogy traced the gens back to Mamercus, said to be the son of Pythagoras or of Numa, or to Trojan ancestors: Aemilia, a daughter of Aeneas; Aimylos, a son of Ascanius; or to King Amulius himself (Plut. Aemilius 2; Numa 8; Romulus 2; Fest. 22 L; Sil. Pun. 8,294-296) [1]. The Aemilii belonged to one of the most respected lines in the R…

[German version] [1] Pacuvius and Sthenius N. Celer from a distinguished Campanian family seem to have offered Hannibal accomodation in Capua in 216 BC Pacuvius and Sthenius N. Celer belonged to a distinguished Campanian family. They seem to have offered Hannibal sumptuous accommodation in Capua in 216 BC (Liv. 23,8). Punic Wars Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) Bibliography J. von Ungern-Sternberg, Capua im 2. Punischen Krieg, 1975, 30-31. [German version] [2] N. Crassus Republican writer, translator of the Iliad in Latin Republican writer, who translated the ‘Iliad into Latin…

Name of one of the oldest and most celebrated Roman patrician families; during the Roman Republic the largest and most extensive gens, giving its name to the tribus Cornelia. Its patrician branches probably stem from the Maluginenses, frequently attested in the 5th cent. BC (C. [I 57-58]); the sequence was probably as follows: in the 5th cent. the Cossi [I 20-22]; in the 4th cent. the Scipiones [I 65-85], Rufini [I 62] and Lentuli [I 31-56]; from the 3rd cent. the Dolabellae [I 23-29], Sullae [I 87-90], Blasiones [I 8-10],…

[English version] [1] Pacuvius und Sthenius N. Celer aus angesehener kampanischen Familie sollen 216 v.Chr. Hannibal in Capua Quartier geboten haben Pacuvius und Sthenius N. Celer gehörten zu einer angesehenen kampanischen Familie und sollen 216 v.Chr. Hannibal mit großem Aufwand in Capua Quartier geboten haben (Liv. 23,8). Punische Kriege Schmitt, Tassilo (Bielefeld) Bibliography J. von Ungern-Sternberg, Capua im 2. Punischen Krieg, 1975, 30-31. [English version] [2] N. Crassus republikanischer Autor, übersetzte die Ilias ins Lat. Republikanischer Autor, der die ‘Ilia…

[English version] war ein von Vergil (ecl. 3,90) kritisierter und von Domitius Marsus in einem von Filagrius ad locum (Courtney, 301) zitierten Epigramm lächerlich gemachter zeitgenössischer Dichter. Marsus berichtet, er und sein Bruder hätten alles miteinander geteilt, bis einer dem anderen seine Frau verweigerte. Ein kritischer Vers gegen Vergil (Courtney, 285) wurde ihm bisweilen zugeschrieben, aber die Zuweisung ist wahrscheinlich bloße Vermutung. Er starb 35 v. Chr. in Kappadokien (Hier. chron. a. Abr. 1982). Courtney, Edward (Charlottesville, VA)

[English version] I. Alter Orient Der Konvention in der Altorientalistik folgend, wird entsprechend den jeweiligen Handlungsträgern zw. E. und Mythos unterschieden, auch wenn dies gattungstheoretisch und in stilistischer Hinsicht schwierig und umstritten bleibt [1. 145-153; 2. 1-24]: im E. agieren (heroisierte) Menschen, während Mythen in der Sphäre der Götterwelt angesiedelt sind. Die sumer. ep. Lit. rankt sich um die legendären Könige der 1. Dyn. von Uruk: Enmerkar, Lugalbanda und Gilgameš. Gegen E…