Lucius Annaeus Florus
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Three main sets of works are attributed to Florus (a Roman
cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...
): ''Virgilius orator an poeta'', an Epitome of Roman History and a collection of 14 short poems (66 lines in all). As to whether these were composed by the same person, or set of people, is unclear, but the works are variously attributed to: *Publius Annius Florus, described as a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
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 ...
and rhetorician. *Julius Florus, described as an ancient Roman poet, orator, and author who was born around 74 AD and died around 130 AD Florus was born in Africa, but raised in Rome. *Lucius Annaeus Florus (''circa'' 74 – 130 AD), a Roman
historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
, who lived in the time of
Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
and Hadrian and was also born in Africa.


''Virgilius orator an poeta''

The introduction to a dialogue called ''Virgilius orator an poeta'' is extant, in which the author (whose name is given as Publius Annius Florus) states that he was born in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and at an early age took part in the literary contests on the
Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...
instituted by
Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...
. Having been refused a prize owing to the prejudice against North African provincials, he left Rome in disgust, and after travelling for some time, set up at Tarraco as a teacher of rhetoric. Here he was persuaded by an acquaintance to return to Rome, for it is generally agreed that he is the Florus who wrote the well-known lines quoted together with Hadrian's answer by Aelius Spartianus (''Hadrian'' I 6). Twenty-six trochaic tetrameters, ''De qualitate vitae'', and five graceful hexameters, ''De rosis'', are also attributed to him.


Poems

Florus was also an established poet. He was once thought to have been "the first in order of a number of second-century North African writers who exercised a considerable influence on
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
literature, and also the first of the '' poetae neoterici'' or ''novelli'' (new-fashioned poets) of Hadrian's reign, whose special characteristic was the use of lighter and graceful meters (anapaestic and iambic dimeters), which had hitherto found little favour." Since Cameron's article on the topic, however, the existence of such a school has been widely called into question, in part because the remnants of all poets supposedly involved are too scantily attested for any definitive judgment. The little poems will be found in E. Bahrens, ''Poëtae Latini minores'' (1879–1883). There is one 4-line poem in iambic dimeter catalectic; 8 short poems (26 lines in all) in
trochaic septenarius In ancient Greek and Latin literature, the trochaic septenarius or trochaic tetrameter catalectic is one of two major forms of poetic metre based on the trochee as its dominant rhythmic unit, the other being much rarer trochaic octonarius. It is use ...
; and 5 poems about roses in
dactylic hexameter Dactylic hexameter (also known as heroic hexameter and the meter of epic) is a form of meter or rhythmic scheme frequently used in Ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The scheme of the hexameter is usually as follows (writing – for a long syllable ...
s (36 lines in all). For an unlikely identification of Florus with the author of the '' Pervigilium Veneris'' see E. H. O. Müller, ''De P. Anino Floro poéta et de Pervigilio Veneris'' (1855), and, for the poet's relations with Hadrian,
Franz Eyssenhardt Franz Eyssenhardt (6 March 1838 – 30 November 1901) was a German classical philologist born in Berlin. He studied philology in Berlin, and subsequently became an instructor at the Werderscher gymnasium. In 1868-69 he performed research in ...
, ''Hadrian und Florus'' (1882); see also
Friedrich Marx Friedrich Marx (April 22, 1859 – October 17, 1941) was a German classical philologist born in Bessungen — today part of the city of Darmstadt. In 1877 he began his study of classical philology at the University of Giessen, then cont ...
in Pauly-Wissowa's ''Realencyclopädie'', i. pt. 2 (1894). Some his poems include "Quality of Life", "Roses in Springtime", "Roses", "The Rose", "Venus’ Rose-Garden", and "The Nine Muses". Florus’ better-known poetry is also associated with his smaller poems that he would write to Hadrian out of admiration for the emperor.


''Epitome of Roman History''

The two books of the ''Epitome of Roman History'' were written in admiration of the Roman people. The books illuminate many historical events in a favorable tone for the Roman citizens. The book is mainly based on
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
's enormous ''
Ab Urbe Condita Libri The work called ( en, From the Founding of the City), sometimes referred to as (''Books from the Founding of the City''), is a monumental history of ancient Rome, written in Latin between 27 and 9 BC by Livy, a Roman historian. The wor ...
''. It consists of a brief sketch of the history of Rome from the foundation of the city to the closing of the Gates of Janus by
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
in 25 BC. The work, which is called ''Epitome de T. Livio Bellorum omnium annorum DCC Libri duo'', is written in a bombastic and rhetorical style – a panegyric of the greatness of Rome, the life of which is divided into the periods of infancy, youth and manhood. According to Edward Forster, Florus' history is largely politically unbiased, except when discussing the civil wars where he favours Caesar over Pompey. The first book of the ''Epitome of Roman History'' is mainly about the establishment and growth of Rome. The second is mainly about the decline of Rome and its changing morals. Florus has taken some criticism on his writing due to inaccuracies found chronologically and geographically in his stories, but even so, the ''Epitome of Roman History'' was vastly popular during the late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, as well as being used as a school book until the 19th century. In the manuscripts, the writer is variously named as ''Julius Florus'', ''Lucius Anneus Florus'', or simply ''Annaeus Florus''. From certain similarities of style, he has been identified as ''Publius Annius Florus'', poet, rhetorician and friend of Hadrian, author of a dialogue on the question of whether
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
was an orator or poet, of which the introduction has been preserved. The most accessible modern text and translation are in the Loeb Classical Library (no. 231, published 1984, ).
Christopher Plantin Christophe Plantin ( nl, Christoffel Plantijn; – 1 July 1589) was a French Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher who resided and worked in Antwerp. Life Plantin was born in France, probably in Saint-Avertin, near the city of ...
, Antwerp, in 1567, published two Lucius Florus texts (two title pages) in one volume. The titles were roughly as follows: 1) ''L.IVLII Flori de Gestis Romanorum, Historiarum''; 2) ''Commentarius I STADII L.IVLII Flori de Gestis Romanorum, Historiarum.'' The first title has 149 pages; the second has 222 pages plus an index in a 12mo-size book.


Attribution of the works

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Tentative biography

The Florus identified as Julius Florus was one of the young men who accompanied
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
on his mission to settle the affairs of
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
. He has been variously identified with Julius Florus, a distinguished orator and uncle of Julius Secundus, an intimate friend of Quintilian (''Instit.'' x. 3, 13); with the leader of an insurrection of the
Treviri The Trēverī (Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fring ...
(
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
, '' Ann.'' iii. 40); with the ''Postumus'' of Horace (''Odes'', ii. 14) and even with the historian Florus. Under Domitian's rule, he competed in the Capital Competition, which was an event in which poets received rewards and recognition from the emperor himself. Although he acquired great applause from the crowds, he was not victorious in the event. Florus himself blamed his loss on favoritism on behalf of the emperor. Shortly after his defeat, Florus departed from Rome to travel abroad. His travels are said to have taken him through the Greek-speaking sections of the Roman Empire, taking in Sicily, Crete, the Cyclades, Rhodes, and Egypt. At the conclusion of his travels, he resided in Tarraco, Spain. In Tarraco, Florus founded a school and taught literature. During this time, he also began to write the ''Epitome of Roman History''. After many years in Spain, he eventually migrated back to Rome during the rule of Hadrian (117-138 AD). Hadrian and Florus became very close friends, and Florus was rumored to be involved in government affairs during the second half of Hadrian's rule.


References

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Bibliography

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External links


Latin and English texts of Florus, ''Epitome of Roman History''
the 1929 Loeb Classical Library translation by E.S. Forster, Bill Thayer's edition. ''Lacus Curtius'' website

''Lacus Curtius'' website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Florus Romans from Africa Roman-era poets Florus, Publius 2nd-century poets 2nd-century Romans Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown