Postumius Rufius Festus Avienius[1][2][3] (sometimes erroneously Avienus) was a Latin writer of the 4th century AD. He was a native of Volsinii in Etruria,[4] from the distinguished family of the Rufii Festi.[5]
Avienius made a free translation into Latin of Aratus' didactic poem Phaenomena. He also took a popular Greek poem in hexameters, Periegesis, briefly delimiting the habitable world from the perspective of Alexandria, written by Dionysius Periegetes in a terse and elegant style that was easy to memorize for students, and translated it into an archaising Latin as his Descriptio orbis terrae ("Description of the World's Lands"). Only Book I survives, with an unsteady grasp of actual geography and some far-fetched etymologies: see Ophiussa.
He wrote Ora Maritima, a poem claimed to contain borrowings from the 6th-century BC Massiliote Periplus.[7][8] Avienius also served as governor of Achaia and Africa.[9]
According to legend, when asked what he did in the country, he answered Prandeo, poto, cano, ludo, lavo, caeno,[check spelling] quiesco:
I dine, drink, sing, play, bathe, sup, rest.[10]
However this quote is a misattribution and likely comes from the works of Martial.[11]