The gens Canidia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome, first mentioned during the late Republic.
It is best known from a single individual, Publius Canidius Crassus, consul suffectus in 40 BC, and the chief general of Marcus Antonius during the Perusine War.
The nomen Canidius belongs to a common class of gentilicia formed from cognomina ending in -idus.
Horace bestowed the ironic nickname upon her, and portrayed her as a sorceress, who used magic perfumes to enchant her lover, Varus.
[2][14] Maxwell Paule cautions against reading Horace's description literally; his portrayal was that of the anti-muse, who torments rather than inspires the artist.