Avienius

Avienius, also known as Rufus Festus Avienius, was a Roman poet and official who lived in the 4th century AD. Little is known about his early life, but he held several important administrative positions during his career, including governor of a province and consul. His literary work is primarily known for two long poems that preserved and adapted earlier geographical and mythological texts.

The first of these, Ora Maritima, is a Latin poem describing the coasts of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. It is a significant source of information about ancient geography, particularly regarding the Iberian Peninsula and the British Isles, as it draws heavily from earlier, now lost, works by Greek geographers. The poem provides details about ancient trade routes, settlements, and geographical features.

His second major work is Aratea, an adaptation of the Phaenomena by the Greek poet Aratus of Soli. This poem focuses on astronomy and astrology, describing the constellations and their mythological origins. Avienius's version is notable for its elegiac meter and its attempt to make the scientific content accessible to a wider audience. His poetry, while not always considered groundbreaking in its originality, is valuable for its preservation of ancient knowledge and its insights into late Roman literary culture.