Saturday, July 30, 2022

Sappho Sings of Artemis: fragment 44a


Sappho Sings of Artemis

Name: Sappho

Date d. 570 BCE

Region:   Lesbos [modern Greece]

Citation:    Fragment 44a.4 – 11

But Artemis swore a serious oath [to her father Zeus]:

“Upon your head, I vow

That I will always remain a maiden,

Hunting on the desolate mountains

I will roam. Grant this to me.”

This is what she said. Zeus granted her wish.

Now men and gods alike call her Maiden, Hunter of Deer, Goddess.

Eros, stay far from her!



Ἄρτεμις δὲ θεῶν μέγαν ὄρκον ἀπώμοσε·

κεφάλαν, ἄϊ πάρθενος ἔσσομαι

...[1] ων ὀρέων κορύφα̣ι̣σ’ ἔπι

...δ̣ε νεῦσον ἔμαν χάριν.”

...σ̣ε θέων μακάρων πάτηρ.

...ολον ἀγροτέραν θέο̣ι

...ι̣σιν ἐπωνύμιον μέγα.

...Ἔρος οὐδάμα πίλναται.

 

 

Diana autem deum sacramentum maximum fecit;

“Per tibi numen, [Pater hominum et deum],

Virgo in aeternum permaneam,

Venatrix per montes desolatos errem.

Des hoc, pater, mihi optem!”

Hoc dicto, annuit deum pater.

Mortales immortalesque hanc vocant

Virginem, cervos-venatrix, deam.

Amor, ne hanc aggrediaris!

Translated into Latin by Kris Masters



[1] There is significant damage to this fragment, and the left portion of many of the lines is missing.

Sappho [d. 570 BCE, modern Greece] was universally applauded by the ancient world as the “Tenth Muse.” Because she was one of the earliest Greek lyric poets, there is very little definitive information on Sappho’s life.  It is generally agreed that Sappho was a wealthy noblewoman from the island of Lesbos who had three brothers and a daughter named Kleis. She used her prominent social position to support a cohort of other women artists, and composed many poems about them, expressing her love for them, praising their beauty, and celebrating their marriages. Whereas earlier Greek poetry was epic poetry with serious themes of gods, warfare, and the state, Sappho’s lyric poetry was emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centered around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into the time period. The modern terms “sapphic” and “lesbian” reveal the longevity of her impact upon modern culture. Unfortunately, although her poetry was universally revered by the Greeks and Romans alike, Sappho’s works only exist as fragments, adding mysterious allure to her larger-than-life status but unfortunately hindering our understanding of her life and thoughts.


Friday, July 29, 2022

Not a Lord, But a Lady: Elegabalus / Bassiana, Cassius Dio, Roman History 80.16.3-5

Quem ut ille conspexit, exiliit gestu modulato: quumque ab eo salutaretur, ut par erat, "Domine Imperator salve," ipse mirum & mulibrem in modum cervice inflexa, oculisque intortis, nil cunctatus respondit: "Ne me Dominum voces, Domina enim ego sum."

καὶ ὃς ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ἀνέθορέ τε ἐρρυθμισμένως, καὶ προσειπόντα, οἷα εἰκὸς ἦν, ‘κύριε αὐτοκράτορ χαῖρε,’ θαυμαστῶς τόν τε αὐχένα γυναικίσας καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐπεγκλάσας ἠμείψατο, καὶ ἔφη οὐδὲν διστάσας  ‘μή με λέγε κύριον: ἐγὼ γὰρ κυρία εἰμί.’

--Cassius Dio, Roman History, 80.16.3-5; Translated into Latin by Hermann Samuel Reimarus, 1753

When Elagabalus / Bassiana saw Zoticus, she leapt up gracefully, and when he greeted her, saying “Greetings, Emperor,” she shook her head and flashed him a smile, replying, “Don’t call me ‘lord,’ for I am a lady.”

CASSIUS DIO

MAP:

Name:  Lucius Cassius Dio

Date:  155 – 235 CE

Works:  Roman History*

 

REGION  5

Region 1: Peninsular Italy; Region 2: Western Europe; Region 3: Western Coast of Africa; Region 4: Egypt and Eastern Mediterranean; Region 5: Greece and the Balkans


BIO:

Timeline:

 Cassius Dio was a Roman statesman born in Nicaea, Bithynia who wrote an 80 volume work on Roman history that spanned from Aeneas’ flight from Troy to the rise of the emperor Severus Alexander. Although much of his history is lost, the fragments that we do have show rare insight into the Roman world.

 ROMAN GREECE

ARCHAIC: (through 6th c. BCE); GOLDEN AGE: (5th - 4th c. BCE); HELLENISTIC: (4th c. BCE - 1st c. BCE); ROMAN: (1st c. BCE - 4th c. CE); POST CONSTANTINOPLE: (4th c. CE - 8th c. CE); BYZANTINE: (post 8th c CE)


Thursday, July 28, 2022

Hierocles, Husband to an Empress, Cassius Dio, Roman History, 80.15.1-3

Content Warning: Homophobic Slur, Slavery

It is important to note that, like the Hadrian/Antinous, Domitian/Earinus, Caracalla/Festus, Nero/Sporus and other Imperial couples, the disparity in social classes between the two lovers may negate the consent of the relationship and should not be romanticized in modern times. 

ὁ δὲ δὴ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς Ἱεροκλῆς ἦν, Καρικὸν ἀνδράποδον, Γορδίου ποτὲ παιδικὰ γενόμενον, παρ᾽ οὗ καὶ ἁρματηλατεῖν ἔμαθεν. κἀκ τούτου καὶ παραδοξότατα αὐτῷ ἠρέσθη. ἐν γάρ τοι ἱπποδρομίᾳ τινὶ ἐκπεσὼν τοῦ ἅρματος κατ᾽ αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ Σαρδαναπάλλου* ἕδραν τό τε κράνος ἐν τῇ πτώσει ἀπέρριψε, καὶ ἐκφανεὶς αὐτῷ ῾λειογένειος δ᾽ ἔτι ἦν καὶ κόμῃ ξανθῇ ἐκεκόσμητὀ ἀνηρπάσθη τε εὐθὺς ἐς τὸ παλάτιον, κἀν τοῖς νυκτερινοῖς ἔργοις ἔτι καὶ μᾶλλον ἑλὼν αὐτὸν ὑπερηυξήθη, ὥστε καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον ἰσχῦσαι, καὶ βραχύ τι νομισθῆναι τὸ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ ἔτι δούλην οὖσαν ἔς τε τὴν Ῥώμην ὑπὸ στρατιωτῶν ἀχθῆναι κἀν ταῖς τῶν ὑπατευκότων γυναιξὶ συναριθμηθῆναι.

Erat vero vir eius, Hierocles quidam, Caricum mancipium, [qui Gordio quondam in deliciis fuerat,] a quo currus etiam agitare didicerat: qua occasione Imperatior, praeter exspectationem, placere coepit. Quum enim aliquando ludis Circensibus, e curru, ante Sardanapali* sellam, decidisset, inque eo casu galeam proiecisset; aperto capite conspectus ab illo, (imberbis autem adhuc & flava ornatus coma erat), statim raptus est in Palatium; & quum nocturnis flagitiis magis etiam cepisset Imperatorem, ita potentia auctus est, ut illo ipso plus posset; ac parum esse videretur, quod mater eius, servili adhuc conditione a militibus deduta in urbem, Consularium relata sit in numerum matronarum.

--Cassius Dio, Roman History, 80.15.1-3; Translated into Latin by Hermann Samuel Reimarus, 1753

[Elegabalus’ / Bassiana’s] husband was the Carian slave Hierocles, who had been Gordian’s concubine; he learned how to drive a chariot during this relationship. This skill is how the Emperor Elegabalus / Bassiana met him, for while Hierocles was racing, he happened to fall out of his chariot right in front of the Emperor’s seat. He lost his helmet in the fall; the sight of the baby-faced blond youth captivated the emperor, and so Hierocles was snatched up and immediately sent to the Palace. Hierocles’ romantic skills captivated the Emperor even more, and his clout rose to such prominence that, even though his mother was a slave, she was brought to Rome under military escort, where she was awarded the rank of Consular Mother.

 * Sardanapalus was a mythical Assyrian king known for his extravagance and gender-bending lifestyle

CASSIUS DIO

MAP:

Name:  Lucius Cassius Dio

Date:  155 – 235 CE

Works:  Roman History*

 

REGION  5

Region 1: Peninsular Italy; Region 2: Western Europe; Region 3: Western Coast of Africa; Region 4: Egypt and Eastern Mediterranean; Region 5: Greece and the Balkans


BIO:

Timeline:

 Cassius Dio was a Roman statesman born in Nicaea, Bithynia who wrote an 80 volume work on Roman history that spanned from Aeneas’ flight from Troy to the rise of the emperor Severus Alexander. Although much of his history is lost, the fragments that we do have show rare insight into the Roman world.

 ROMAN GREECE

ARCHAIC: (through 6th c. BCE); GOLDEN AGE: (5th - 4th c. BCE); HELLENISTIC: (4th c. BCE - 1st c. BCE); ROMAN: (1st c. BCE - 4th c. CE); POST CONSTANTINOPLE: (4th c. CE - 8th c. CE); BYZANTINE: (post 8th c CE)


 


Wednesday, July 27, 2022

The Emperor's Gender: Cassius Dio on Elegabalus, Roman History 80.14.3-4

Bassiana / Elegabalus Living as a Lady

Name:  Cassius Dio

Date   155 – 235 CE 

Region:   Nicaea [modern Turkey]

Citation:      Roman History 80.14.3-4

 At court, [Bassiana /Elegabalus] kept their appearance as a man, but everywhere else they kept the appearance and voice of a woman. And they danced all the time in public, not just on stage, but also wherever they walked, when they made sacrifices, and when they were holding court. Finally, to circle back to my original point, they got married as a bride, and were called “wife,” “milady,” and “Queen.” They spun wool, wore a veil, wore eyeliner, makeup, and anklets.

 



  ὅτι ἐν τῷ δικάζειν τινὰ ἀνήρ πως εἶναι ἐδόκει, ἐν δὲ δὴ τοῖς ἄλλοις τῷ ἔργῳ καὶ τῷ σχήματι τῆς φωνῆς ὡραΐζετο. τά τε γὰρ ἄλλα καὶ ὠρχεῖτο, οὔτι γε ἐν ὀρχήστρᾳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐμβαδίζων τρόπον τινὰ καὶ θύων ἀσπαζόμενός τε καὶ δημηγορῶν. καὶ τέλος, ἵν᾽ ἤδη ἐπὶ τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς λόγον ἐπανέλθω, καὶ ἐγήματο, γυνή τε καὶ δέσποινα βασιλίς τε ὠνομάζετο, καὶ ἠριούργει, κεκρύφαλόν τε ἔστιν ὅτε ἐφόρει, καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐνηλείφετο, ψιμυθίῳ τε καὶ ἐγχούσῃ ἐχρίετο.

 Et in iure quidem reddendo, aliquatenus vir esse videbatur; in aliis tamen rebus, & opere & modulatione vocis, muliebrem affectabat mollitiem. Inter alia enim saltabat, non in orchestra solum, verum etiam quodammodo dum incederet, faceret sacrificia, salutaretur, & contionem haberet. Postremo, ut redeam unde digressus sum, nupsit etiam, et uxor et domina et Augusta appellabatur; tractabat lanam, reticulum aliquando gestabat, oculosque sublinebat, cerussaque vultum et anchusa pingebat.   
Translated into Latin by Hermann Samuel Reimarus


 

Cassius Dio [Lucius Cassius Dio; 165 – 235 CE, modern Turkey] was a Roman statesman born in Nicaea, Bithynia [modern Turkey] who wrote an 80 volume work on Roman history that spanned from Aeneas’ flight from Troy to the rise of the emperor Severus Alexander. Although much of his history is lost, the fragments that we do have show rare insight into the Roman world.


Monday, July 25, 2022

I'm Getting Too Old for This: A Gallus in Retirement, Greek Anthology 6.234

Galli were worshippers of the goddess Cybele who renounced their masculinity by voluntarily undergoing castration. They lived as women, and held a separate legal status from men in ancient Rome. In this poem, the protagonist gallus is dedicating their religious trappings upon their retirement from the fervor of the bacchic rituals.

Gallus capillatus, in iuventute exsectus, de Tmolo

Lydius saltator longum ululas,

accolenti Sangarium haec Matri tympana venerandae

posuit, et flagellum multiiugis-talis-tessellatum,

et haec ex-orichalco garrula cymbala, et fragrantem

cincinnum, furore recens deposito.


Γάλλος ὁ χαιτάεις, ὁ νεήτομος, ὡπὸ Τυμώλου

Λύδιος ὀρχηστὰς μάκρ᾽ ὀλολυζόμενος,

τᾷ παρὰ Σαγγαρίῳ τάδε Ματέρι τύμπαν᾽ ἀγαυᾷ

θήκατο, καὶ μάστιν τὰν πολυαστράγαλον,

ταῦτὰ τ᾽ ὀρειχάλκου λάλα κύμβαλα, καὶ μυρόεντα

βόστρυχον, ἐκ λύσσας ἄρτια παυσάμενος.

--Erycius, Greek Anthology, 6.234; Translated into Latin by Hugo Grotius

At the end of the rave

A long haired gallus, castrated in my youth,

A dancer on the Lydian shore of the Tmolus River,

Who chanted beautifully,

Now grown older,

dedicates to the revered Bithynian Mother

A tambourine

A whip with many tassels

A set of clanging cymbals made of orichalcum

A fragrant lock of hair.

 

 

<Anonymous>

MAP:

Name:  ????

Date: 

Works:  Greek Anthology; Anthologia Graeca; Florilegii Graecii

 

REGION  UNKNOWN

Region 1: Peninsular Italy; Region 2: Western Europe; Region 3: Western Coast of Africa; Region 4: Egypt and Eastern Mediterranean; Region 5: Greece and the Balkans

BIO:

Timeline:

 The Greek Anthology is a modern collection of Greek lyric poetry compiled from various sources over the course of Greco-Roman literature. The current collection was created from two major sources, one from the 10th century CE and one from the 14th century CE. The anthology contains authors spanning the entirety of Greek literature, from archaic poets to Byzantine Christian poets. 

 Byzantine Greek

ARCHAIC: (through 6th c. BCE); GOLDEN AGE: (5th - 4th c. BCE); HELLENISTIC: (4th c. BCE - 1st c. BCE); ROMAN: (1st c. BCE - 4th c. CE); POST CONSTANTINOPLE: (4th c. CE - 8th c. CE); BYZANTINE: (post 8th c CE)


Thursday, July 21, 2022

Camilla, Nobody's Daughter-in-Law, Vergil, Aeneid 11.539-584


Camilla, Nobody’s Daughter-in-Law 

Name:  Vergil

Date:  70 – 19 BCE

Region:  Mantua [modern northern Italy]

Citation:  Aeneid 11.581-584

Throughout the Tyrrhenian towns,

Numerous mothers hoped in vain

That Camilla would become her daughter-in-law.

But instead, content with Diana alone,

She chastely devoted herself

To her eternal love of weaponry and her own chastity.


Camilla, Nobody’s Daughter-in-Law

Multae illam frustra Tyrrhena per oppida matres

optavere nurum; sola contenta Diana

aeternum telorum et virginitatis amorem

intemerata colit.


Vergil, also known as Virgil, [Publius Vergilius Maro; 70 – 19 BCE, modern Italy] was born in Mantua, Cisalpine Gaul, and lived during the tumultuous transition of Roman government from republic to monarchy. His writing talent earned him a place of honor among Maecenas’ fellow authors under Augustan rule. He was friends with numerous famous authors of the time period, including Horace and Asinius Pollio. His former slave Alexander was the most influential romantic partner in his life, and the poet memorialized his love for him under the pseudonym “Alexis” in Eclogue 2. His masterpiece, the Aeneid, tells the story of Aeneas’ migration from Troy to Italy; it was used for centuries as the pinnacle of Roman literature.


Monday, July 18, 2022

I'm Getting To Old For This: A Gallus' Dedication, Greek Anthology 6.51

A Gallus in Retirement

Name:  Unknown

Date   Unknown

Region:    Unknown

Citation:    Greek Anthology 6.51

Galli were worshippers of the goddess Cybele who renounced their masculinity by voluntarily undergoing castration. They lived as women and held a separate legal status from men in ancient Rome. In this poem, the protagonist gallus is dedicating their religious trappings upon their retirement from the fervor of the bacchic rituals.

O Mother Rhea, she who cherishes lions,

Whose sacred mountain no one has befouled with their feet,

The woman [1]Alexis dedicates to you

Her fury-rousing instruments

Taking a pause from her bronze symbols

The low resounding flutes,

Which turned the heads of calves,

The resounding drum,

The sword dripping with blood,

Accept this offering, o Lady, which I reveled in during my youth

And free me now from the same wild abandon in my old age.



[1] This poem uses the masculine form of the Greek word for woman (θῆλυς).




μῆτερ ἐμή γαίη, Φρυγίων θρέπτειρα λεόντων,

Δίνδυμον ἧς μύσταις οὐκ ἀπάτητον ὄρος,

σοὶ τάδε θῆλυς Ἄλεξις ἑῆς οἰστρήματα λύσσης

ἄνθετο, χαλκοτύπου παυσάμενος μανίης,

κύμβαλά τ᾽ ὀξύφθογγα, βαρυφθόγγων τ᾽ ἀλαλητὸν

αὐλῶν, οὓς μόσχου λοξὸν ἔκαμψε κέρας,

τυμπανά τ᾽ ἠχήεντα, καὶ αἵματι φοινιχθέντα

φάσγανα, καὶ ξανθάς, τὰς πρὶν ἔσεισε, κόμας.

ἵλαος, ὦ δέσποινα, τὸν ἐν νεότητι μανέντα

γηραλέον προτέρης παῦσον ἀγριοσύνης.  

O mater mea Tellus, Phrygiorum nutrix leonum,

cuius mystis Dindymus mons non incalcatus,

tibi hos [feminaeus] Alexis sui insaniae-instrumenta furoris

dedicavit, aere-pulso-excitata cessans a-rabie,

cymbala acuti-soni, gravisque vocis iubilum

tibiarum, quas vituli obliquum flexit cornu,

et tympana sonora, et sanguine rubro-infectos

gladios, et fulvas, quas pridem iactavit, comas.

Propitia, o domina, hunc-qui in iuventute insanivit,

senem a priore libera feritate.

Translated into Latin by  Hugo Grotius




Sunday, July 17, 2022

M/M: Harmodius & Aristogiton, Sacred Names of Freedom Fighters: Aulus Gellius 9.2.10-11

Maiores autem mei Athenienses nomina iuvenum fortissimorum Harmodii et Aristogitonis, qui libertatis recuperandae gratia Hippiam tyrannum interficere adorsi erant, ne umquam servis indere liceret decreto publico sanxerunt, quoniam nefas ducerent nomina libertati patriae devota servili contagio pollui. Cur ergo nos patimur nomen philosophiae inlustrissimum in hominibus deterrimis exsordescere?

--Aulus Gellius Att. Noct. 9.2.10-11

Herodes Atticus criticizes a scammer disguised as a philosopher:

“My Athenian ancestors made a law that slaves could never have the name of Harmodius & Aristogiton, the incredibly brave youths who undertook a plot to kill the tyrant Hippias in an attempt to restore liberty to the city.  They thought it was an abomination for the names of those who sacrificed their lives for their country’s freedom should be polluted by being associated with slaves.   So then why are we allowing the noble name of ‘philosopher’ to be made filthy by disgusting scammers?  

AULUS GELLIUS

MAP:

Name:  Aulus Gellius

Date:  2nd. c. CE

Works:  Attic Nights

 

REGION  UNKNOWN

Region 1: Peninsular Italy; Region 2: Western Europe; Region 3: Western Coast of Africa; Region 4: Egypt and Eastern Mediterranean; Region 5: Greece and the Balkans


BIO:

Timeline:

 Aulus Gellius lived during the 2nd century CE. His work, the Attic Nights, are a collection of anecdotes about literature, history, and grammar.  From internal evidence, we can deduce that he was in the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ social circle, having close friendships with Herodes Atticus and Fronto.

 SILVER AGE LATIN

Early Roman Lit: through 2nd c BCE: Republican Rome: through 1st c. BCE; Golden Age: 70 BCE to 18 CE; Silver Age: 18 CE to 150 CE; Age of Conflict: 150 CE - 410 CE; Byzantine and Late Latin: after 410 CE


 

Stop Clutching Your Pearls: Books Don't Change Women's Behavior, Ovid, Tristia 2.285-316

 In his Tristia, Ovid laments that his poetry caused his exile, but cites numerous examples of other, much worse "influences" that aren't addressed by censorship:

Tollatur Circus; non tuta licentia Circi est:
     hic sedet ignoto iuncta puella uiro.
Cum quaedam spatientur in hoc, ut amator eodem
     conueniat, quare porticus ulla patet?
Quis locus est templis augustior? Haec quoque uitet,
     in culpam siqua est ingeniosa suam.
Cum steterit Iouis aede, Iouis succurret in aede
     quam multas matres fecerit ille deus.
Proxima adoranti Iunonis templa subibit,
     paelicibus multis hanc doluisse deam.
Pallade conspecta, natum de crimine uirgo
     sustulerit quare, quaeret, Erichthonium.
Venerit in magni templum, tua munera, Martis,
     stat Venus Vltori iuncta, uir ante fores.
Isidis aede sedens, cur hanc Saturnia, quaeret,
     egerit Ionio Bosphorioque mari?
In Venerem Anchises, in Lunam Latmius heros,
     in Cererem Iasion, qui referatur, erit.
Omnia peruersas possunt corrumpere mentes
     stant tamen illa suis omnia tuta locis.
Et procul a scripta solis meretricibus Arte
     summouet ingenuas pagina prima manus.
Quaecumque erupit, qua non sinit ire sacerdos,
     protinus huic dempti criminis ipsa rea est.
Nec tamen est facinus uersus euoluere mollis,
     multa licet castae non facienda legant.
Saepe supercilii nudas matrona seueri
     et Veneris stantis ad genus omne uidet.
Corpora Vestales oculi meretricia cernunt,
     nec domino poenae res ea causa fuit.

At cur in nostra nimia est lasciuia Musa,
     curue meus cuiquam suadet amare liber?

--Ovid, Tristia II.285-316 

The Circus Maximus should be shut down—it’s not safe for women!  You can see women hanging out with men who aren’t their husbands there (gasp!).

Why does any portico remain standing, when this is a place where a woman can meet with her lover? (gasp!)

What is a more sacred place than a temple? Women should avoid them too! They are also complicit in tempting women to stray. 

When she stands in Jupiter’s temple, a woman will realize how many lovers the god impregnated.

If she goes to the Temple of Juno next door, she will realize how many of Jupiter’s lovers upset the goddess.

When she sees Pallas Athena, she will think about Erichthonius, the child born from rape whom the goddess raised.

If she comes to the great temple of Mars that you made, she sees Venus hand-in-hand with the Mars the Avenger, standing together outside.

Sitting in the temple of Isis, she will wonder why Juno forced her [Io] to escape over the Ionian and Bosphorus sea?

In the Temple of Venus there’s a statue of her lover Anchises,

In the Temple of the Moon, there’s a statue of [her lover] Endymion,

In the Temple of Ceres, there’s the statue of Iasion.

There’s inappropriate stuff that can corrupt minds prone to dirty thoughts in all of the temples—and yet they are safe!

The first page of the book written by courtesans for courtesans warns well-born women not to read it.

If a woman leaves her designated area in a temple, and goes where a priest doesn’t allow her to go, it is her fault, not his.

Nor is it a crime to read sexy verses! Of course chaste women can read about stuff they aren’t supposed to do. [When they bathe publicly] often noble women with stern expressions look at naked women from every walk of life. Vestal Virgins look upon naked bodies of prostitutes, and this doesn’t get them in trouble. 

But yet why is *my* book too licentious, why does my book persuade others to love?

OVID

MAP:

Name: Publius Ovidius Naso  

Date:  43 BCE – 18 CE

Works:  Ars Amatoria

               Metamorphoses*

              Tristia, etc.

 

REGION  1

Region 1: Peninsular Italy; Region 2: Western Europe; Region 3: Western Coast of Africa; Region 4: Egypt and Eastern Mediterranean; Region 5: Greece and the Balkans


BIO:

Timeline:

Ovid was one of the most famous love poets of Rome’s Golden Age. His most famous work, the Metamorphoses, provides a history of the world through a series of interwoven myths. Most of his poetry is erotic in nature; for this reason, he fell into trouble during the conservative social reforms under the reign of the emperor Augustus. In 8 CE he was banished to Bithynia, where he spent the remainder of his life pining for his native homeland.

 GOLDEN AGE ROME

 

Early Roman Lit: through 2nd c BCE: Republican Rome: through 1st c. BCE; Golden Age: 70 BCE to 18 CE; Silver Age: 18 CE to 150 CE; Age of Conflict: 150 CE - 410 CE; Byzantine and Late Latin: after 410 CE