Rufinus: The Epigrams of Rufinus

Book excerpt: Nothing is known of the Greek poet Rufinus other than that he was the author of a collection of thirty-nine epigrams. In fact he is such an insubstantial figure that his date has been placed at various points within nearly half a millennium. Professor Page here presents a text of Rufinus' poems and a concise commentary on them. In his introduction he considers the criteria by which a date may be established and finds evidence in favour of the fourth century AD.