Editing Sidonius Apollinaris (section)

===Carmina===
[[File:Caii Sollii Apollinaris Sidonii Opera.tif|thumb|''Opera'' (1598)]]
A collection of twenty-four ''Carmina'' by Sidonius survives, consisting of [[occasional verse]], including ''[[panegyric]]s'' on different emperors , which document several important political events and draw largely upon [[Statius]], [[Ausonius]] and [[Claudian]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Sidonius emphasises Rome's past successes and glories as a "[[mirror of princes|crisis mirror]]" for contemporary rulers, suggesting both the degree to which Rome had declined but also the possibility of revitalisation. In both ''Carmen'' 7 for Avitus and ''Carmen'' 5 for Majorian, Sidonius reviews past emperors and concludes that only those who earnt the title through virtue, especially the military virtue of [[Vespasian]] and above all [[Trajan]], deserved praise – an implicit challenge to the new emperors.{{Sfn|Mratschek|2020|pp=240-241}} Other virtues are also important; ''Carmen'' 2 praises Anthemius for his mastery of the [[liberal arts]].{{Sfn|Mratschek|2020|pp=241}}

Other poems have different subjects. For example, ''Carmen'' 22 is an [[ecphrasis]] of a painting of the [[Third Mithridatic War]] on the wall of the villa of Pontius Leontius "Dionysus", one of Sidonius' friends, at Burgus. Sidonius' visit to the villa is compared to a meeting of [[Apollo]] with Dionysus, at which they decide to settle in [[Aquitania]] and establish learned symposiastic culture there.{{Sfn|Mratschek|2020|pp=241}}