Tiberianus was a late Latin writer and poet, surviving only in fragments, who experimented with various metrical schemes. He is a possible candidate for the authorship of the ''

Pervigilium Veneris ''Pervigilium Veneris'' (or ''The Vigil of Venus'') is a Latin poem of uncertain date, variously assigned to the 2nd, 4th or 5th centuries. It is sometimes thought to have been by the poet Tiberianus, because of strong similarities with his po ...

''.H J Rose, ''A Handbook of Latin Literature'' (London 1967) p.527

Identity

Tiberianus has traditionally been identified with Annius Tiberianus, the "eloquent" 'disertus''governor of Gaul in 336 AD mentioned by

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

. An earlier candidate is however the prefect of Rome 303–4, Iunius Tiberianus.

Known poems

Four poems (and a fragmentary fifth on a sunset) are known to have been written by Tiberianus:A Cameron, ''Studies in Late Roman Literature and History'' (Bari 2016) p. 14 ''Spring Day'' 'Amnis ibat'' an attack on the power of gold; a hymn; and a description of a dying bird.

Other writings

Fabius Planciades Fulgentius Fabius Planciades Fulgentius () was a Latin writer of late antiquity. Four extant works are commonly attributed to him, as well as a possible fifth which some scholars include in compilations with much reservation. His mythography was greatly adm ...

attributed to Tiberianus the writing of prosimetra, dialogues in verse and prose, (from which the extant poems may have been taken). * E. Baehrens in the 19thC suggested Tiberianus as the author of the ''Pervigilium Veneris'', something metrical parallels with ''Amnis ibat'' would seem to support. Alan Cameron in the 20thC strengthened the case for his authorship through thematic and vocabulary parallels.

Influences

Tiberianus was influenced by Silver Age poets such as

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 ...

and

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; ; ) was a Greco-Roman poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving Latin poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetry, ...

, and also by

Titus Calpurnius Siculus Titus Calpurnius Siculus was a Roman bucolic poet. Eleven eclogues have been handed down to us under his name, of which the last four, from metrical considerations and express manuscript testimony, are now generally attributed to Nemesianus, who li ...

, as well as by the prose of

Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern-day ...

. Read and quoted by Fulgentius and

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...

, his metrical experiments may also have influenced such Christian poets as

Hilary of Poitiers Hilary of Poitiers ( la, Hilarius Pictaviensis; ) was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" () and the "Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy or ...

and

Prudentius Aurelius Prudentius Clemens () was a Roman citizen, Roman Christianity, Christian poet, born in the Roman Empire, Roman province of Tarraconensis (now Northern Spain) in 348.H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Classical Literature'' (1967) p. 508 He prob ...

References

External links

"Catullus. Tibullus. Pervigilium Veneris"
{{Authority control 4th-century Roman poets 4th-century Latin writers