Sabinus (died 14 or 15 AD) was a Latin poet and friend of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

. He is known only from two passages of Ovid's works. At ''

Amores Amores may refer to: * ''Amores'' (Ovid), the first book by the poet Ovid, published in 5 volumes in 16 BCE * ''Amores'' (Lucian), a play by Lucian; also known as ''Erotes'' * Erotes (mythology), known as Amores by the Romans * ''Amores'', a bo ...

'' 2.18.27—34, Ovid says that Sabinus has written responses to six of Ovid's '' Heroïdes'', the collection of

elegiac The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...

epistles each written in the person of a legendary woman to her absent male lover. These are enumerated as Ulysses to

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...

, in response to ''Heroïdes'' 1; Hippolytus to

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * ''Phaedra'' (Alexandre Cabanel), an 1880 painting Film * ''Phaedra'' (film), a 1962 film by ...

(''H.'' 4);

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

(''H.'' 7); Demophoon to

Phyllis Phyllis is a feminine given name which may refer to: People * Phyllis Bartholomew (1914–2002), English long jumper * Phyllis Drummond Bethune (née Sharpe, 1899–1982), New Zealand artist * Phyllis Calvert (1915–2002), British actress * P ...

(''H.'' 2);

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

Hypsipyle In Greek mythology, Hypsipyle (Ancient Greek: Ὑψιπύλη) was a queen of Lemnos, and the daughter of King Thoas of Lemnos, and the granddaughter of Dionysus and Ariadne. When the women of Lemnos killed all the males on the island, Hypsipyle ...

(''H.'' 6); and (presumably) Phaon to Sappho (''H.'' 15). Three of these Ovidian responses by Sabinus — the letters from Ulysses and Demophoon, along with a letter from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Oenone In Greek mythology, Oenone (; Ancient Greek: Οἰνώνη ''Oinōnē''; "wine woman") was the first wife of Paris of Troy, whom he abandoned for Helen. Oenone was also the ancient name of an island, which was later named after Aegina, daught ...

(''Heroïdes'' 5) — are printed in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

editions of the ''Heroïdes''. Modern scholars believe them to have actually been written in the 1460s–1470s by the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

Angelo Sabino Angelo Sabino or in Latin Angelus Sabinus (''fl.'' 1460s–1470s) was an Italian Renaissance humanist, poet laureate, classical philologist, Ovidian impersonator, and putative rogue. Sabino's real name was probably Angelo Sani di Cure, with the top ...

, who was a poet and editor of classical texts. His edition advertised the inclusion of poems by "Aulus Sabinus," and though this has sometimes been taken as the ancient poet's '' praenomen,'' it was probably part of Sabino's invention. Sabinus is also among some thirty contemporary poets mentioned by Ovid in his verse letters from exile (collected as the ''

Tristia The ''Tristia'' ("Sorrows" or "Lamentations") is a collection of letters written in elegiac couplets by the Augustan poet Ovid during his exile from Rome. Despite five books of his copious bewailing of his fate, the immediate cause of August ...

'' and ''

Epistulae ex Ponto ''Epistulae ex Ponto'' (''Letters from the Black Sea'') is a work of Ovid, in four books. It is a collection of letters describing Ovid's exile in Tomis (modern-day Constanța) written in elegiac couplets and addressed to his wife and friends. T ...

''). Ovid's bitter last letter ''ex Ponto'', written in 15 AD, alludes to Sabinus's response from Ulysses and gives titles for two other works by him, ''Troezen'' and ''Dierum Opus'', the latter of which is said to have been left unfinished upon his recent and untimely death. The 19th-century scholar Carl Gläser conjectured that the ''Troezen'' was an

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

containing a history of the birth and adventures of

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...

, whose birthplace was

Troezen Troezen (; ancient Greek: Τροιζήν, modern Greek: Τροιζήνα ) is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the muni ...

, up to the time of his arrival at his father's court at

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. The ''Dierum Opus'' ("Days' Work") he regarded as a continuation of Ovid's calendrical ''

Fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...

'', which was left unfinished when he died in exile.Carl Eduard Gläser, "Der Dichter Sabinus," ''Rheinisches Museum'' 1 (1842), 437–442. Since Sabinus died before Ovid, this may be problematic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabinus 1st-century Romans 10s deaths 1st-century Roman poets Ancient Roman poets Golden Age Latin writers Latin writers known only from secondary sources Year of birth missing Year of death uncertain