Ausonius

This name derives from the Ancient Greek “Áusones (Αὔσονες),” Latinized to “Ausonius,” meaning “native of Ausonia.” Ausones, the original Greek form for the Latin “Aurunci,” was a name applied by Greek writers to describe various Italic peoples inhabiting the southern and central regions of Italy. Ausonia was the region corresponding to the present province of Reggio Calabria, formerly occupied by the people of Ausoni. Aurunci is the name given by Roman writers to an ancient race or nation of Italy. It appears that “Aurunci” was the appellation the Romans gave to the people called “Ausones” by the Greeks. Indeed, the two names are merely different forms of the same, as the letter “r” was a common variation for “s” in Latin (Aurunci = Auronici = Auruni = Ausuni). Decimius Magnus Ausonius (ca. 310–393) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France.