Scribonius Aphrodisius was a grammarian of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

. He was originally a slave and disciple of the grammarian Lucius Orbilius Pupillus, who was also the teacher of the Roman poet

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

. He was purchased by Scribonia, the second wife of the emperor

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 ...

, and was by her

manumitted Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and ...

. She may have purchased him to educate her children, or possibly herself. Aphrodisius is known to have written a treatise on orthography, in opposition to a similar work written by the grammarian

Verrius Flaccus Marcus Verrius Flaccus (c. 55 BCAD 20) was a Roman grammarian and teacher who flourished under Augustus and Tiberius. Life He was a freedman, and his manumitter has been identified with Verrius Flaccus, an authority on pontifical law; but for ...

, also a freedman, but this work is now lost.

Notes

Imperial Roman slaves and freedmen Grammarians of Latin Latin writers known only from secondary sources Scribonii 1st-century Romans 1st-century BC Romans {{AncientRome-writer-stub