Occupation Singer, poet Nationality Roman Died 40 BC, Rome, Italy | Language Latin Genre Lyric poetry Resting place Rome | |
Tigellius (1st century BC – 40 BC), was a lyric poet during the time of Julius Caesar. The little information we have about him are those on the Satires of Horace and some letters of Cicero. From them we know that he was a Sardinian, a fine singer and a close friend of Julius Caesar.
Identification
Some scholiast had identified the Tigellius with Tigellius Hermogenes mentioned in other parts of the Satires. This identification was rejected by André Dacier, in his edition of the works of Horace, but few scholars followed him until Karl Kirchner presented a detailed argument for the interpretation of Dacier. According to Berthold Ullman however, the version of the scholiasts can not be excluded nor Kirchner's arguments are irrefutable. In fact the Tigellius mentioned in some verses of Satires is the same mentioned by Cicero in some of his letters. Cicero, Horace and Licinius Macer Calvus called him indifferently Tigellius or Sardus Tigellius never Hermogenes. Nevertheless, it is very likely that Hermogenes is the name of the Sardinian Tigellius, this combination of a Roman name and a greek surname also reveal that it is a Freedman.