Three main sets of works are attributed to Florus (a Roman
cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "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 hereditar ...
): ''Virgilius orator an poeta'', the ''Epitome of Roman History'' and a collection of 14 short poems (66 lines in all). As to whether these were composed by the same person, or set of people, is unclear, but the works are variously attributed to:
*Publius Annius Florus, described as a
Roman poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
and
rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...
ian.
*Julius Florus, described as an ancient Roman poet, orator, and author who was born around 74 AD and died around 130 AD
Florus was born in Africa,
but raised in Rome.
*Lucius Annaeus Florus (''circa'' 74 – 130 AD), a Roman
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
, who lived in the time of
Trajan
Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...
and
Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
and was also born in Africa.
''Virgilius orator an poeta''
The introduction to a dialogue called ''Virgilius orator an poeta'' is extant, in which the author (whose name is given as Publius Annius Florus) states that he was born in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, and at an early age took part in the literary contests on the
Capitol instituted by
Domitian
Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...
. Having been refused a prize owing to the prejudice against North African provincials, he left Rome in disgust, and after travelling for some time, set up at
Tarraco
Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of Hispania Tarraconensis following the latter's creation during the Roman Empire ...
as a teacher of rhetoric. Here he was persuaded by an acquaintance to return to Rome, for it is generally agreed that he is the Florus who wrote the well-known lines quoted together with
Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
's answer by
Aelius Spartianus (''Hadrian'' I 6). Twenty-six trochaic tetrameters, ''De qualitate vitae'', and five graceful hexameters, ''De rosis'', are also attributed to him.
Poems
Florus was also an established poet.
He was once thought to have been "the first in order of a number of second-century North African writers who exercised a considerable influence on
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
literature, and also the first of the ''
poetae neoterici'' or ''novelli'' (new-fashioned poets) of Hadrian's reign, whose special characteristic was the use of lighter and graceful meters (anapaestic and iambic dimeters), which had hitherto found little favour." Since Cameron's article on the topic, however, the existence of such a school has been widely called into question, in part because the remnants of all poets supposedly involved are too scantily attested for any definitive judgment.
The little poems will be found in
E. Bahrens, ''Poëtae Latini minores'' (1879–1883). There is one 4-line poem in iambic dimeter catalectic; 8 short poems (26 lines in all) in
trochaic septenarius; and 5 poems about roses in
dactylic hexameter
Dactylic hexameter is a form of meter used in Ancient Greek epic and didactic poetry as well as in epic, didactic, satirical, and pastoral Latin poetry.
Its name is derived from Greek (, "finger") and (, "six").
Dactylic hexameter consists o ...
s (36 lines in all). For an unlikely identification of Florus with the author of the ''
Pervigilium Veneris'' see
E. H. O. Müller, ''De P. Anino Floro poéta et de Pervigilio Veneris'' (1855), and, for the poet's relations with Hadrian,
Franz Eyssenhardt, ''Hadrian und Florus'' (1882); see also
Friedrich Marx in Pauly-Wissowa's ''Realencyclopädie'', i. pt. 2 (1894).
Some his poems include "Quality of Life", "Roses in Springtime", "Roses", "The Rose", "Venus’ Rose-Garden", and "The Nine Muses". Florus’ better-known poetry is also associated with his smaller poems that he would write to Hadrian out of admiration for the emperor.
''Epitome of Roman History''
The two books of the ''Epitome of Roman History'' were written in admiration of the Roman people.
The books illuminate many historical events in a favorable tone for the Roman citizens.
The book is mainly based on
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...
's enormous ''
Ab Urbe Condita Libri''. It consists of a brief sketch of the history of Rome from the foundation of the city to the closing of the
Gates of Janus by
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
in 25 BC. The work, which is called ''Epitome de T. Livio Bellorum omnium annorum DCC Libri duo'', is written in a bombastic and rhetorical style – a panegyric of the greatness of Rome, the life of which is divided into the periods of infancy, youth and manhood.
According to Edward Forster, Florus' history is largely politically unbiased, except when discussing the civil wars where he favours Caesar over Pompey.
The first book of the ''Epitome of Roman History'' is mainly about the establishment and growth of Rome.
The second is mainly about the decline of Rome and its changing morals.
Florus has taken some criticism on his writing due to inaccuracies found chronologically and geographically in his stories,
but even so, the ''Epitome of Roman History'' was vastly popular during the late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, as well as being used as a school book until the 19th century.
In the manuscripts, the writer is variously named as ''Julius Florus'', ''Lucius Anneus Florus'', or simply ''Annaeus Florus''. From certain similarities of style, he has been identified as ''Publius Annius Florus'', poet, rhetorician and friend of Hadrian, author of a dialogue on the question of whether
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
was an orator or poet, of which the introduction has been preserved.
The most accessible modern text and translation are in the
Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...
(no. 231, published 1984, ).
Christopher Plantin, Antwerp, in 1567, published two Lucius Florus texts (two title pages) in one volume. The titles were roughly as follows: 1) ''L.IVLII Flori de Gestis Romanorum, Historiarum''; 2) ''Commentarius I STADII L.IVLII Flori de Gestis Romanorum, Historiarum.'' The first title has 149 pages; the second has 222 pages plus an index in a 12mo-size book.
Attribution of the works
:
Tentative biography
The Florus identified as Julius Florus was one of the young men who accompanied
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...
on his mission to settle the affairs of
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
. He has been variously identified with Julius Florus, a distinguished orator and uncle of Julius Secundus, an intimate friend of
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...
(''Instit.'' x. 3, 13); with the leader of an insurrection of the
Treviri (
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
, ''
Ann.'' iii. 40); with the ''Postumus'' of Horace (''Odes'', ii. 14) and even with the historian Florus.
Under Domitian's rule, he competed in the Capital Competition,
which was an event in which poets received rewards and recognition from the emperor himself.
Although he acquired great applause from the crowds, he was not victorious in the event. Florus himself blamed his loss on favoritism on behalf of the emperor.
Shortly after his defeat, Florus departed from Rome to travel abroad.
His travels are said to have taken him through the Greek-speaking sections of the Roman Empire, taking in Sicily, Crete, the Cyclades, Rhodes, and Egypt.
At the conclusion of his travels, he resided in Tarraco, Spain.
In Tarraco, Florus founded a school and taught literature.
During this time, he also began to write the ''Epitome of Roman History''.
After many years in Spain, he eventually migrated back to Rome during the rule of
Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
(117-138 AD).
Hadrian and Florus became very close friends, and Florus was rumored to be involved in government affairs during the second half of Hadrian's rule.
See also
*
Annia gens
The gens Annia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Livy mentions a Lucius Annius, praetor of the Roman colony of Setia, in 340 BC, and other Annii are mentioned at Rome during this period. Members of this gens held various positions of auth ...
References
*
*
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
External links
Latin and English texts of Florus, ''Epitome of Roman History'' the 1929 Loeb Classical Library translation by E.S. Forster, Bill Thayer's edition. ''Lacus Curtius'' website
''Lacus Curtius'' website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florus
Romans from Africa
Ancient Roman poets
Florus, Publius
2nd-century poets
2nd-century Romans
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown