Gaius Licinius Macer Calvus (28 May 82 BC – c. 47 BC) was an
orator
An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.
Etymology
Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...
and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
of
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
.
Son of
Licinius Macer
Gaius Licinius Macer (died 66BC) was a Roman annalist and politician.
Life
A member of the ancient plebeian clan Licinia, he was tribune in 73BC. Sallust mentions him agitating for the people's rights. He became praetor in 68BC, but in 66BC Cic ...
and thus a member of the ''
gens Licinia'', he was a friend of the poet
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His ...
, whose style and subject matter he shared.
[ Calvus' oratorical style opposed the "Asian" school in favor of a simpler Attic model: he characterized ]Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
as wordy and artificial. Twenty-one speeches are mentioned, including several against Publius Vatinius
Publius Vatinius was a Roman politician during the last decades of the Republic. He served as a Caesarian-allied plebeian tribune in the year 59 – he was the tribune that proposed the law giving Caesar his Gallic command – and later fought on ...
.[
Calvus was apparently short, since Catullus alludes to him as ''salaputium disertum'' (eloquent Lilliputian).][ Seneca the Elder also mentions his short stature, and refers a story in which Calvus asked to be raised to a platform, so that he could defend one of his clients.][Seneca the Elder, ''Controversiae'', 7.4.6]
F. Plessis published fragments of Calvus in 1896.
See also
* Licinia (gens)
The gens Licinia was a celebrated plebeian family at ancient Rome, which appears from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times, and which eventually obtained the imperial dignity. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship wa ...
References
* Weiss, M. "An Oscanism in Catullus 53", ''Classical Philology'' 91 (1996) 353–359.
References
External links
Catullus poems mentioning Calvus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Licinius Macer Calvus
Roman-era poets
Ancient Roman rhetoricians
Atticists (rhetoricians)
Golden Age Latin writers
Macer Calvus, Gaius
1st-century BC Romans
1st-century BC Roman poets
82 BC births
40s BC deaths