Oppian

Oppian of Corycus (or Anazarbus) in Cilicia was a Greek didactic poet of the late second century AD. The Suda says he was the son of a man exiled by Septimius Severus and that the young Oppian's poetic genius won his father's recall. He died young, reportedly at about thirty.

His surviving work, the Halieutica (On Fishing), is a didactic poem in five books of hexameters describing the habits of fish and the techniques used to catch them. The poem is learned, vivid, and often surprising — Oppian has a genuine feel for the sea and its creatures. His descriptions of fish behaviour mix accurate observation with fanciful mythology, and his set pieces (the mating of vipers, the hunting of whales) have real poetic energy.

Ancient critics praised the Halieutica highly, and Marcus Aurelius reportedly rewarded Oppian with a gold piece for every line.