Sabinus (died 14 or 15 AD) was a Latin poet and friend of

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

. He is known only from two passages of Ovid's works. At '' Amores'' 2.18.27—34, Ovid says that Sabinus has written responses to six of Ovid's '' Heroïdes'', the collection of elegiac epistles each written in the person of a legendary woman to her absent male lover. These are enumerated as Ulysses to Penelope, in response to ''Heroïdes'' 1; Hippolytus to Phaedra (''H.'' 4); Aeneas to Dido (''H.'' 7); Demophoon to Phyllis (''H.'' 2);

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

to Hypsipyle (''H.'' 6); and (presumably) Phaon to Sappho (''H.'' 15). Three of these Ovidian responses by Sabinus — the letters from Ulysses and Demophoon, along with a letter from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to Oenone (''Heroïdes'' 5) — are printed in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

editions of the ''Heroïdes''. Modern scholars believe them to have actually been written in the 1460s–1470s by the

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

Angelo Sabino, who was a poet and editor of classical texts. His edition advertised the inclusion of poems by "Aulus Sabinus," and though this has sometimes been taken as the ancient poet's ''

praenomen The praenomen (; plural: praenomina) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Ancient Rome, Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the ...

,'' it was probably part of Sabino's invention. Sabinus is also among some thirty contemporary poets mentioned by Ovid in his verse letters from exile (collected as the '' Tristia'' and '' Epistulae ex Ponto''). Ovid's bitter last letter ''ex Ponto'', written in 15 AD, alludes to Sabinus's response from Ulysses and gives titles for two other works by him, ''Troezen'' and ''Dierum Opus'', the latter of which is said to have been left unfinished upon his recent and untimely death. The 19th-century scholar Carl Gläser conjectured that the ''Troezen'' was an epic poem containing a history of the birth and adventures of

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

, whose birthplace was Troezen, up to the time of his arrival at his father's court at

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. The ''Dierum Opus'' ("Days' Work") he regarded as a continuation of Ovid's calendrical '' Fasti'', which was left unfinished when he died in exile.Carl Eduard Gläser, "Der Dichter Sabinus," ''Rheinisches Museum'' 1 (1842), 437–442. Since Sabinus died before Ovid, this may be problematic.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabinus 1st-century Romans 10s deaths 1st-century Roman poets Golden Age Latin writers Latin writers known only from secondary sources Year of birth missing Year of death uncertain