Claudius Claudianus, a celebrated Latin poet (floruit 395-404), produced the bulk of his work during a time of crisis for the Roman Empire. Following the death of the Emperor Theodosius in 395, the temporary reunification of the eastern and western halves of the empire collapsed as generals employed their armies to vie for political ascendancy. Amid this military turmoil restless Germanic tribes, especially those led by the Goth Alaric, threatened the frontiers in both the East and West. Students of Late Antiquity today associate Claudian with the Christian court of Theodosius’ son, Honorius, who became emperor of the West following his father’s death. Claudian first became a prominent figure by delivering a panegyric to the consuls of 395. Alan Cameron underscores this identification in his influential 1970 monograph on Claudian by stressing the poet’s services to the general Flavius Stilicho, regent for Honorius and the husband of Theodosius’ niece, Serena. But what of his origins?

While this paper will argue that Claudian originated in the west, this is hardly a widely-held opinion. Cameron asserts that Claudian was an Egyptian, drawing evidence from two passages in which the poet refers to the Nile. 1 Cameron also mentions a reference in the tenth century Suda, believing it came from the sixth century biographer Hesychius, to a Greek Claudianus of Alexandria. 2 Concluding that this evidence is sufficient, Cameron states that “there is no reason to doubt the testimony of Hesychius, confirmed as it is by Claudian’s own explicit statement that he was born in Alexandria. 3 In the last few centuries many students had expressed belief in an Egyptian origin for Claudian, citing passages from Claudian and the apparent confirmation in the Suda. However, in his monograph Cameron created a new perspective on the poet when he asserted: