Cynegetica

work by Nemesianus

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June 25, 2026

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The Cynegetica is an incomplete poem on hunting written by Marcus Aurelius Olympius Nemesianus, a Roman poet born in Carthage around AD 280. This work is part of the literary genre known as cynegetics, which pertains to hunting.12

The Cynegetica provides instruction on various aspects of hunting, including details about dogs, horses, and the necessary equipment. It is written in a graceful style, drawing inspiration from Virgil's Georgics and Grattius's own Cynegetica. Nemesianus also wrote four pastoral eclogues and is sometimes credited with fragments on bird catching.1

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Marcus Aurelius Olympius Nemesianus
…incomplete poem on hunting (Cynegetica). Two small fragments on bird catching (De aucupio) are also generally attributed to him. The four eclogues are in the Virgilian tradition and are also influenced by Calpurnius. They are purely imitative and of conventional form and imagery, yet they are attractive because of…
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…incomplete poem on hunting (Cynegetica). Two small fragments on bird catching (De aucupio) are also generally attributed to him. The four eclogues are in the Virgilian tradition and are also influenced by Calpurnius. They are purely imitative and of conventional form and imagery, yet they are attractive because of…
Read More