FLORUS, PUBLIUS ANNIUS, Roman poet and rhet orician, identified by some authorities with the historian Florus (q.v.). The introduction to a dialogue called Virgilius orator an poeta is extant, in which the author (whose name is given as Publius Annius Florus) states that he was born in Africa, and at an early age took part in the contest of poets instituted by Domitian in honour of Capitoline Jove. Having been refused a prize owing to the prejudice against African provincials, he left Rome and after travelling for some time set up at Tarraco as a teacher of rhetoric. But he must have returned to Rome, for it is agreed that he is the Florus who wrote the lines quoted, with Hadrian's answer, by Spartianus (Hadrian 16). Twenty-six trochaic tetrameters, De qualitate vitae, and five graceful hexam eters, De rosis, are also attributed to him. Florus is important as being the first in order of a number of second century African writers who exercised a considerable influence on Latin literature, and also the first of the poetae neoterici or novelli (new-fashioned poets) of Hadrian's reign, whose special characteristic was the use of lighter and graceful metres (anapaestic and iambic dim eters), which had hitherto found little favour.