In Praise of Meliboeus: Calpurnius Siculus and Columella

Abstract

In discussion over the dating of the Bucolics of Calpurnius Siculus, an important role has always been played by attempts to identify the character of Meliboeus, who is to be read as a bucolic allegory of the poet's patron. By providing a new interpretation of the description of Meliboeus’ literary production, I argue that he must be the agricultural writer Columella. A consideration of other aspects of Meliboeus confirms this identification, as does the analysis of a number of significant allusions to De cultu hortorum, the poem that makes up the tenth book of Columella's De re rustica. I then establish the date of Columella and discuss the consequences for dating Calpurnius, placing some parts of his book later in the reign of Nero than has been customary.

Flavian Responses to Nero's Rome

“…10 My argument will focus on Silius, in accordance with the topic of this paper. Even a Neronian Calpurnius might imitate Lucan (depending on when precisely in the Neronian period he is dated), but I have argued elsewhere that at least between Calpurnius' first eclogue and Book 1 of the Bellum Civile, the direction of imitation is from Calpurnius to Lucan (Nauta [2021]). 11 Civil war and Philippi: 906-909; Discordia bound like Furor in the Aeneid: 923-924; lampas: 847 (lampadas); scintillare: 849 (cum uaga per nitidum scintillant lumina mundum); cruentus:…”

“…1 For, if Calpurnius is Neronian, he may be used in the interpretation of Flavian 1 The Neronian date, first established by Sarpe (1819) and generally accepted since Haupt (1854) = (1875) 358-406, was rejected in favour of a date in the third century by and since then most notably by ; Armstrong (1986); Courtney (1987); . Although the majority of scholars, especially in Europe, have remained faithful to the Neronian date (see Nauta [2021] 1-2 for a survey), Anglophone scholarship is usually agnostic or accepts the late date, explicitly or implicitly; e.g. in a recent collection of sources on Nero ), Calpurnius is not even mentioned in the section 'Nero as the Object of Contemporary Poetry' (258-264).…”

The Poet Nemesianus and theHistoria Augusta

“… 135 Fabricius 1697: 152. On the date of Calpurnius Siculus, see still Champlin 1978, whose conclusions stand despite the recent challenge attempted by Nauta 2021.…”