Hostius was the author of an epic poem, ''Bellum Histricum'', which was at least two books long. It is uncertain which Istrian war was the subject of this poem, but scholars generally consider the second war (129 BC) is more likely, as the first (178–7) had already been treated by

Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabria ...

in his ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

''. Only seven fragments of Hostius' poem survive, but it was probably in the panegyric style which was common in the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

. Based on a reference to a ''doctus avus'' ("learned ancestor") in a poem by Propertius, many scholars believe that his lover Cynthia – whose real name was apparently Hostia – was descended from Hostius. Edward Courtney doubts this, arguing that the girl addressed in the poem is not Cynthia.

References

Roman-era poets 2nd-century BC poets {{AncientRome-poet-stub