Publius Terentius Varro Atacinus (; 82 – c. 35 BC) was a Roman poet, more polished in his style than the more famous and learned Varro Reatinus, his contemporary, and therefore more widely read by the Augustan writers. Charles Thomas Cruttwell
''History of Roman Literature'' (1877)
Book II, part I, note III He was born in the province of Gallia Narbonensis, the southern part of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the Eas ...

with its capital at

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...

, on the river Atax (now the

Aude Aude (; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it " Cathar Country" ( French: ''Pays cathare'') after a group of religious dissidents active ...

), for his

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 ...

''Atacinus'' indicates his birthplace.

Writings

Only fragments of his works survive. His first known works are ,H. J. Rose, ''A Handbook of Latin Literature'' (London 1967) p. 146 a poem on

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

's campaign against

Ariovistus Ariovistus was a leader of the Suebi and other allied Germanic peoples in the second quarter of the 1st century BC. He and his followers took part in a war in Gaul, assisting the Arverni and Sequani in defeating their rivals, the Aedui. They the ...

, and some satires; these should not be confused with the ''Menippean Satires'' of the other Varro, of which some 600 fragments survive. He also wrote a geographical poem, ''Chorographia''; ''Ephemeris'', a hexameter poem on weather-signs after Aratus, from which Virgil has borrowed and (late in life) elegies to Leucadia. His translation of the Alexandrian poet

Apollonius Rhodius Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

' ''Argonautica'' into

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

has some fine surviving lines; and was singled out for praise by

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 t ...

: “Of Varro too what age will not be told/And Jason’s Argo and the fleece of gold?”. Oskar Seyffert considered that the poem to have been “the most remarkable production in the domain of narrative epic poetry between the time of Ennius and that of Vergil”. Of Varro's fragments, the

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

on "The Tombs of the Great" is well-known; whether or not it is truly Varro's is debatable:

Patrons

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

as well as

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

have been suggested as possible patrons of Varro's writings.B. Gold ed., ''Literary and Artistic Patronage in Ancient Rome'' (2012) p. 91

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atacinus, Varro Golden Age Latin writers Roman-era poets Terentii 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century BC Roman poets 82 BC births 30s BC deaths People from Gallia Narbonensis 1st-century BC Gallo-Roman people

Writings

Patrons

See also

Notes