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. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ...

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). Velzna was an Etruscan city in central Italy, the last Etruscan city to be taken by the Romans. ... Etruria was an ancient country in Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium and Umbria. ... For modern diplomatic consuls, see Consulate general. ...

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 mere pagan writer which show his works very clearly. Richard Lovelace (1618 - 1657) was an English poet and nobleman, born in Woolwich, today part of south-east London. ...

He made somewhat inexact translations into Latin of Aratus' didactic poem Phaenomena. Aratus (Greek Aratos) (ca. ...

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 quoted by Hippius (???who should that be???). Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria Αλεξάνδρεια (in Arabic, الإسكندرية, transliterated al-ʼIskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. ... Dionysius Periegetes, author of a description of the habitable world in Greek hexameter verse, written in a terse and elegant style. ... Ophiussa is the ancient name given by the ancient Greeks to the Portuguese territory. ... A periplus in the ancient navigation of Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans is a manuscript document that lists in order the ports and coastal landmarks, with approximate distances between, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. ...

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. Events Troops of the Jin Dynasty of China is defeated by Former Yan of the Xianbei. ... 1. ... Theodor Mommsen Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (30 November 1817 - 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar and historian, generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. ... Template:Μετάφραση Achaea (Greek: , Achaïa; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a province on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the north, bordering the Gulf of Corinth... Events January 2, Alamanni cross frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading Roman Empire October 1 - Pope Damasus I becomes Bishop of Rome. ... Flavius Julius Valens (Latin: IMP·CAESAR·FLAVIVS·IVLIVS·VALENS·AVGVSTVS) (328 – August 9, 378) was Roman emperor from 364 until his death, after he was given the Eastern part of the empire by his brother Valentinian I. His father was the general Gratian the Elder. ... The Roman province of Asia was the administrative unit added to the late Republic, a Senatorial province governed by a proconsul who was an ex-consul, an honor granted only to Asia and the other rich province of Africa. ...

Editions

• 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

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)