Varro Atacinus
Roman writer and poet

Varro Atacinus

The basics
Quick facts
Intro
Roman writer and poet
A.K.A.
Publius Terentius Varro
Gender:
Male
Places:
Work field:
Birth:
1 January 82(Narbonne, arrondissement of Narbonne, Aude, Occitania)
Death:
35
The details
Biography

For others named Terentius Varro, see Varro (cognomen).

Publius Terentius Varro Atacinus (/ˈvær/; 82 BC – 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. He was born in the province of Gallia Narbonensis, the southern part of Gaul with its capital at Narbonne, on the river Atax (now the Aude), for his cognomen Atacinus indicates his birthplace.

Only fragments of his works survive. His first known works are Bellum sequanicum, a poem on Julius Caesar's campaign against Ariovistus, and some satires; these should not be confused with the Menippean Satires of the other Varro, of which some 600 fragments survive. He translated the Alexandrian poet Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica into Latin.

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