Porfirius (Porphyrius) Optatianus

Publilius. A Latin poet, who composed, about A.D. 330, a series of short poems in praise of Constantine, constructed in a highly artificial manner, in that the lines in each poem contain exactly the same number of letters. By this composition he obtained his recall from banishment, and won the favour of the emperor. The commendatory letter of Constantine as well as the thanks of the poet have come down to us with the poem. Edited by L. Müller (Leipzig, 1877).