Oppian of Apamea (Ὀππιανὸς ὁ ἐξ Ἀπαμείας), or Oppian the Younger, was a Greek didactic epic poet of the late 2nd or early 3rd century CE. He is distinguished from the earlier Oppian of Cilicia. An anonymous biography states he was the son of a philosopher from Apamea in Syria and dedicated his work to Emperor Caracalla, though precise dating remains complicated by ancient sources conflating the two poets [1].

His sole extant work is the Cynegetica (Κυνηγετικά, "On Hunting"), a didactic epic in four books comprising roughly 2,150 verses on the hunting of wild animals [1][2].

Oppian’s significance lies in the Cynegetica as a major work of later Greek didactic poetry, continuing the Hellenistic tradition of technical epic. It serves as a valuable source for ancient hunting practices, zoological knowledge, and cultural attitudes toward nature in the Roman Imperial period. The poem, composed in Homeric dialect, was popular in Byzantium and is often paired with the Halieutica of Oppian of Cilicia, together representing the primary didactic epics on animal life [1][2].

Sources 1. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Classics: Oppian: https://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-4566 2. Perseus Digital Library: Oppian, Cynegetica: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0483