author
Claudius Claudianus
A late Roman poet writing at the court of Emperor Honorius, he turned politics, myth, and imperial ceremony into vivid Latin verse. Often remembered as one of the last great poets of classical Latin, his work also gives a close-up view of the Roman world around 400 AD.
2 Audiobooks
Claudian, volume 2 (of 2) With an English translation by Maurice Platnauer
by Claudius Claudianus
Claudian, volume 1 (of 2) With an English translation by Maurice Platnauer
by Claudius Claudianus
About the author
Born in Egypt, probably at Alexandria, Claudius Claudianus—usually called Claudian—flourished in the late 4th and early 5th centuries. Ancient and modern sources alike connect him with the western imperial court at Milan, where he became especially associated with the powerful general Stilicho and wrote poems for Emperor Honorius.
His surviving work includes court panegyrics, sharp political invectives, and the unfinished mythological poem De raptu Proserpinae (The Rape of Proserpine). That mix of public praise, literary skill, and mythic storytelling helped make him a major figure in late antique literature.
Claudian is often described as one of the last great poets of the classical Latin tradition. Beyond their literary appeal, his poems are also valuable to historians because they reflect the anxieties, ambitions, and power struggles of the Roman Empire at a time of major change.