DOCTUS HAURANUS. OSSERVAZIONI SULLO SPERIMENTALISMO POETICO DI CLE 961

Abstract

One of the most significant testimonies to the spread of Epicureanism in ancient
Neapolis is the epigraphic poem for Gaius Stallius Hauranus (CLE 961),
commemorated here as a member of a joyful Epicurean chorus. Previous scholarship has primarily focused on dating the inscription and identifying its dedicatee. This study seeks to shift attention toward the poem’s understudied literary dimensions. Through an analysis of its vocabulary, metrical patterns, and layout, it argues that the inscription reflects not only a bilingual environment influenced by Epicureanism but also an active engagement – mirroring contemporary canonical literature – in adapting Hellenistic poetic forms to the Latin language.