CLASSICS 1B03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Propertius, Tibullus, Heroides
Document Summary
Born: 43 bce (30 years younger than virgil but of the same time) Born to a wealthy family, but stayed out of politics; did not choose a side in the civil war, maintained their wealth. Educated in rome studied law, was on track to be the family"s first senator. Couldn"t resist the draw of poetry when his brother died. Friends with elegists tibullus and propertius: elegists: erotic form of poetry, shorter and written in a different meter. Augustus and morality: setting a high standard for rome: taxes on men who were unmarried at the age of 38, adultery was a crime, it was expensive to divorce. Wrote metamorphoses and fasti late in life. 8 ce: banishment to tomis: took ovid a year to get there. Private becomes public; love becomes a system. Denies any divine inspiration for his poetry. Irrelevant approach to love; subversive, but also within the tradition of elegy.