a certain Meliboeus) came to his aid. Through his influence Calpurnius apparently secured a post at Rome. The poet's patron, has been variously identified with Columella, Seneca the philosopher, and Gaius Calpurnius Piso. Although the sphere of Meliboeus's literary activity (as indicated in Eclogue iv.53) suits none of these, what is known of Calpurnius Piso fits in well with what is said of Meliboeus by the poet, who speaks of his generosity, his intimacy with the emperor, and his interest in tragic poetry. His claim is further supported by the poem De Laude Pisonis (ed. C.F. Weber, 1859) which has come down to us without the name of the author, but which there is considerable reason for attributing to Calpurnius, the other main contender being Lucan. Eclogues The eclogues are a collection of Latin poetry attributed to Calpurnius Siculus. Of his models the chief is Virgil, of whom (under the name of Tityrus) he speaks with great enthusiasm; he is also indebted to Ovid and Theocritus. Laus Pisonis and Einsiedeln Eclogues The Laus Pisonis exhibits a striking similarity with Calpurnius's eclogues in metre, language, and subject-matter. The author of the Laus is young, of respectable family and desirous of gaining the favour of Piso as his Maecenas. Further, the similarity between the two names can hardly be accidental; it is suggested that the poet may have been adopted by the courtier, or that he was the son of a freedman of Piso. The attitude of the author of the Laus towards the subject of the panegyricus seems to show less intimacy than the relations between Corydon and Meliboeus in the eclogues, and there is internal evidence that the Laus was written during the reign of Claudius (Teuffel-Schwabe, Hist. of Rom. Lit. 306,6). Mention may here be made of the fragments of two short hexameter poems known as the Einsiedeln Eclogues, which share similarities with the poetry of Calpurnius. Notes References Further reading H. E. Butler, Post-Augustan Poetry (Oxford, 1909), pp. 150 foll. Franz Skutsch in Pauly-Wissowa's Realencyclopädie, iii.I (1897). Thomas K. Hubbard, The Pipes of Pan (Ann Arbor 1998) pp. 150 foll. 1st-century Romans 1st-century Roman poets Ancient Roman poets Siculus, Titus