Avienius made a free translation into Latin of
Aratus' didactic poem
Phaenomena. He also took a popular Greek poem in
hexameters,
Periegesis, briefly delimiting the habitable world from the perspective of
Alexandria, written by
Dionysius Periegetes in a terse and elegant style that was easy to memorize for students, and translated it into an archaising Latin as his
Descriptio orbis terrae ("Description of the World's Lands"). Only Book I survives, with an unsteady grasp of actual geography and some far-fetched etymologies: see
Ophiussa. He wrote
Ora Maritima, a poem claimed to contain borrowings from the 6th-century BC
Massiliote Periplus. Avienius also served as governor of
Achaia and
Africa. According to legend, when asked what he did in the country, he answered
Prandeo, poto, cano, ludo, lavo, caeno, quiesco: However this quote is a misattribution and likely comes from the works of
Martial. ==Editions==