Avienus
Avienus was a
Latin writer of the
4th century. His full name
Postumius Rufius Festus (qui et) Avien(i)us is mentioned on an inscription from
Bulla Regia, but "Avienus" has become the usual form of reference.
He was a native of
Volsinii in
Etruria, a highly educated man from the distinguished family of the
Rufii Festi. He was twice appointed
consul (if an inscription published by
Spon and
Fabretti really refers to him).
Famously asked what he did in the country, in a poem (erroneously attributed to him) he answered
Prandeo, poto, cano, ludo, lavo, caeno, quiesco ("I dine, drink, sing, play, bathe, sup, rest" in
Richard Lovelace's translation). There is no hint of Christianity in his written work: Avienus was a pagan writer which is reflected in his work.
He made somewhat inexact translations into Latin of
Aratus' didactic poem
Phaenomena.
Avienus 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 Roman students, and translated it into Latin, as
descriptio orbis terrae . Only Book I survives, with an unsteady grasp of actual geography and some far-fetched etymologies: see
Ophiussa. He also wrote
Ora Maritima ("sea coasts"), based on material adapted from the type of mariners' coasting directions called a
Periplus and rendered as poetry, resulting in a confused amateur's account of the coastal regions of the Mediterranean.
He is surely not identical with the Rufus (?) Festus who wrote,
ca. 369, an
epitome of Roman history in the genre called
breviarium:The scholar
Theodore Mommsen identified that author with Rufius Festus, proconsul of
Achaea in
366, and both with Rufus Festus Avienus. Others take him to be Festus of Tridentum,
magister memoriae (secretary) to
Valens and notoriously severe proconsul of the province of
Asia, where he was sent to punish those implicated in the conspiracy of Theodorus. The work itself (
Breviarium rerum gestarum populi Romani) is divided into two parts, one geographical, the other historical.
For further informations see the introduction in Soubiran's edition of the
Phaenomena.
* A. Berthelot:
Ora maritima. Paris 1934. (text of reference)
* G. Fischer, F. Köppner:
Der gestirnte Himmel. Versuch einer Übersetzung der Phaenomena Aratea des Rufus Festus Avienus. In: Programm des Communal-Obergymnasiums in Komotau, Komotau 1893. (German translation, part I)
* G. Fischer:
Der gestirnte Himmel. Versuch einer Übersetzung der Phaenomena Aratea des Rufus Festus Avienus. In: Programm des Communal-Obergymnasiums in Komotau, Komotau 1896. (German translation, part II)
* A. Holder:
Rufi Festi Avieni Carmina. Innsbruck 1887. (completely obsolete edition)
* J. P. Murphy:
Ora maritima or Description of the seacoast. Chicago 1977.
* J. Soubiran:
Aviénus: Les Phénomènes d'Aratos. CUF, Paris 1981. (text of reference)
* D. Stichtenoth:
Ora maritima, lateinisch und deutsch. Darmstadt 1968. (the Latin text is that of the
editio princeps of 1488 and is better not cited)
* P. van de Woestijne:
Descriptio orbis terrae. Brugge 1961. (text of reference)
Commentaries and monographs
* F. Bellandi, E. Berti und M. Ciappi:
"Iustissima Virgo": Il mito della Vergine in Germanico e in Avieno (saggio di commento a Germanico Arati Phaen. 96 - 139 e Avieno Arati Phaen. 273 - 352), Pisa 2001
* A. Cameron:
Avienus or Avienius? In: ZPE 108 (1995), S. 252-262
*
Concordantia in Rufium Festum Avienum. Curavit Manfred WACHT. G. Olms Verlag 1995
* M. Fiedler:
Kommentar zu V. 367-746 von Aviens Neugestaltung der Phainomena Arats. Stuttgart Saur 2004
* C. Ihlemann:
De Avieni in vertendis Arateis arte et ratione. Diss. Göttingen 1909
* H. Kühne:
De arte grammatica Rufi Festi Avieni. Essen 1905
* K. Smolak:
Postumius Rufius Festus Avienus. In: Handbuch der lateinischen Literatur der Antike, hrsg. von R. Herzog und P. L. Schmidt, Fünfter Band. Restauration und Erneuerung. Die lateinische Literatur von 284 bis 374 n. Chr., München 1989, S. 320-327
* D. Weber:
Aviens Phaenomena, eine Arat-Bearbeitung aus der lateinischen Spätanike. Untersuchungen zu ausgewählten Partien. Dissertationen der Universität Wien 173, Wien 1986
* P. van de Woestijne:
De vroegste uitgaven van Avienus' Descriptio orbis terrae (1488-1515). 1959
* H. Zehnacker:
D'Aratos à Aviénus: Astronomie et idéologie. ICS 44 (1989), S. 317-329
*
Ortelius' bibliography: notes of cartographers
*
Ora maritima and Periegesis in Latin, at
The Latin Library*
Introduction and e-text of the "Description" (in French)
