Rome of Augustus

Final Study Guide

IMAGES

Images from Lecture II : “Crossing the Rubicon”

[Just skim to the slides, which are in bold]

Birth date of Augustus = September 23rd, 63 B.C.

Traditional founding of Rome by Romulus: 753 B.C.
Second founding of Rome—founding of consulship: 509 B.C.
The kings were driven out and the consulship was established.

509 B.C. = the rape and suicide of Lucretia by the son of the last king. She killed herself to protect her virtue and in
an outrage, Romans rose up and killed the last king. Lucius Brutus led the uprise and became the first consul.

2.1 = Rape of Lucretia at knifepoint

2.2 = Painting: “The Rape of Lucretia,” by Botechelli, at the Isabella Stewart Gardener museum. Lucretia,
having stabbed herself, drooping, about to die.

2.3. = Central scene is of Lucretia laid out with knife still in her chest. Brutus with a band of arms about to
rise up. Name “king” was a deeply loaded term. Any suggestion that a Roman was acting like a king
would be anathema to Roman way of thinking. Powerful legend which associates Roman freedom with
establishment of consulship. Emergence form tyranny into freedom.

The system that came into being around 509 lasted for almost 500 years. (Between 450 and 500 years). Difficult to
say when the Roman republic came to an end. No definitive moment, but we often use a particular event—title of
lecture: “Crossing the Rubicon.”
When Julius Caesar in the year 49 B.C. led his army out of his province across the boundary into Italy, against the
orders of the senate—this put the Republic into crisis, and the events that followed brought the Republic to its end.

But from ~500 B.C.E.  50/49 B.C.E. = a fairly durable system

Overview of what made that system work:

What was the political landscape like, in those 450 which we conventionally describe as the Roman Republic? Three
defining features of the Roman Republican world & society:

1. TRADITION

2. HIERARCHY

3. COMPETITION
TRADITION

There were references to the “Roman Republican Constitution.” It sounds like a document but this is a misleading
term. There was never a written formulation. There WAS a set of customs, understandings, a CONSENSUS STYLE OF
GOVERNMENT, rather than a legal form.

MOS MAIORUM = Latin word for the ways and customs of the ancestors.

Rallying cry something is sanctioned by tradition. It is in accordance with Mos Maiorum—keeping with the ways of
the ancestors. Central to Augustus’s politics.

2.4 = Republican Roman. Formally dressed in a toga. He’s holding two busts/images of his ancestors.
Some kind of ceremonial occasion. When a member died, the amalgams (sp?) of his ancestors were
carried in procession.
Tradition  representation of continuity of family.
Shrines housed the busts of the mayores (sp?), when not being publicly displayed. They were honored within the
household. For a Roman, his ancestors literally lived with him/shared the house with him. Strong/immediate concept
of tradition.

HIERARCHY

So we have a very traditional society. We also have a highly stratified/hierarchical society. Remember that Rome was
a slave-owning society. Much of the work that produced great aqueducts/other structures were built by slaves. There
was the drastic stratification between freemen and slaves, but also the distinction among free Romans themselves.
Many social class distinctions. The hierarchy-strata-layers are reflected in the political system.

Rome as a Republic = a representative form of government.

Vs.

Athens = a genuine democracy—people gather and deliberate

Romans never had full democracy—seemed too chaotic. They had a representative democracy in which people elected
magistrates who were at least in theory accountable to the people. The dynamic between elected official and the
people = an open one.

1. Conventional view = the people were being manipulated by political elite, and had no power.
2. Another view = that the people’s support was important and elected officials needed to solicit their support.

In the Roman Republic, a relatively small sub-section of the population formed the political class. Much of it was
HEREDITARY.

Small political class within a larger population. That political class was also hierarchically structured. A Roman political
career had a definite shape to it.

The Romans had a more clearly laid out, upward career path called the:
CURSUS HONORUM = (Running a race, to get up the ladder)

1. Start as quistor = financial office

2. Aedial = public works
3. Preator = judges, military commanders
4. Consul = top of pyramid only two per year!

Clearly defined, upward-moving path.

Another important component in this political system is the SENATE:

In our system, the senate is a political office for which you can run. But in the ancient Roman Republic, the senate
was not an office, but a Republican body to which you entered by virtue of being elected. Senate in Rome was a much
larger body. Sullah (sp?) established an upper limit of 600, but it reached 1,000 by the time of Caesar.

2.5 / 2.6 = Senate House. In the form in which Julius Caesar rebuilt it. Sits right in the heart of the Roman
forum. Senate began in the time of kings. Senate related to the word for old man, “Senax,”—advisors
to the kings. Over the course of time, the senate acquired enormous political prestige.

AUCTORITAS = the root of English ‘Authority.’ The senate had Auctoritas, but that implies a legal standing—you have
the power to do something.

But in Latin, Auctoritas is not a power, but rather it’s a quality. Applies to individuals and senate as a group. Senate =
Corporate Auctoritas. Voice of the Republican political establishment Informal power.

Senate didn’t have executive power, but had less legal/weighty power.

AUCTORITAS = Republican ideal.

Formula “SPQR” = Senate and the People of Rome

[Senatas Populus Qua Romano]
Motto for the city of Rome, Roman self-definition.
Union of SENATE—representing elected magistrates—and THE PEOPLE—who elected the magistrates =
ideal image of Rome.
Certain families which were politically engaged, but not completely closed, still had the opportunity to compete
(powerful friends/financial help).

Name for people like this = “Novus Homo,” (sp?) or “New Man”

2.6/2/7 = (Not positive if these are slides of Cicero but my notes suggest it)

Famous example = Cicero—a self-made statesman. Created a great name for himself as an orator and
prosecution/defense attorney. Rose to consulship in 63 B.C. A very significant year because it solved one
of the recurring crises of the late Republic. A conspiracy/planned uprising to overthrow the consuls and
seize control of the state. Led by Lucius Cataline.

COMPETITION

Last component of this Roman Republican world. This political elite was very often interconnected by marriage to
create political alliances. Pompey married Julius Caesar’s daughter. But also TENSELY COMPETITIVE!

Psyche of Roman people = Desire for glory/recognition/fame/celebrity/renown/honor/distinction, etc. etc.

The Romans were intensely aware of who was looked up to—who had respect. They wanted respect for themselves
and their family. Weight of family tradition. What were they going to do to uphold the family honor?

In our society there are many ways to achieve glory and fame. Politics is only one.

But in the Roman system, THE WAY TO GLORY WAS ONLY THROUGH POLITICS!

[Artists/writers/athletes—these were not glorious people.]

IMAGE MAKING AS A FORM OF POLITICAL ADVERTISTING:

Stressing the extent to which it was through politics—service to the state and military positions—that Romans
achieved glory!

2.8 = Traditional foundation story of Rome in 753 B.C. Romulus and Remus, being suckled by the she-wolf
= ancient sculpture. Twin brothers = Renaissance addition.
Romulus and Remus = the story of two twins who establish a city together and compete as to who will be
ruler and who will name the city. In all versions, Remus ends up dead—either killed by Romulus when he
objects to his brother’s power, or killed by malady.
HEART OF THE STORY = Two bros compete. One ends up dead and the other emerges victorious. Reflects
Roman political ambition. Civil War = latent in the Roman foundation story bro vs. bro for political
ascendancy.

Trying to channel these ambitions in the most productive way. Intensely ambitious men working for/through the
people in order to achieve glory for themselves and their families. You can see why the Republic did not want to have
a chief magistrates.

• It divided power even at the highest level between two consuls, serving as checks for each other.
• Term only lasted one year, and then could be reelected.

Dangers in consolidation of power—wanted to disperse it as much as possible.

Dissolution of that system in the era of Julius Caesar.

2.9 & 2.10 = Image of Caesar and the Head of Pompey, respectively…

In the time of Caesar and Pompey, the personal power/influence of these leaders grew so great that it came to

threaten the system—the traditional restrictions. Neither Caesar, nor Pompey was willing to abide by those
restrictions, and the system didn’t have the power to stop them/restrain them. Caesar was the catalyst for the crisis.

When he disobeyed the senate, this cast Pompey into the role of defender of the senate. But, BOTH CAESAR AND

POMPEY POSED A THREAT TO THE CONSENSUS AND DIFFUSION OF AMBITION THAT MADE THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

POSSIBLE!

Rome’s successes enabled these men to acquire a huge power base. Rome had growth from a small city in
central Italy to a world power. What Pompey and Caesar held at their disposal was beyond the
imagination of any Romans a couple centuries previously.

COINS OF JULIUS CAESAR:

Coins of Julius Caesar help us track the path that led him to sole rule and then to his assassination, as he began

stepping further outside Republican Restraints.

LEFT = traditional Republican coin from the earlier period.

• Roma = Female helmeted figure is Rome itself (“Roma”).
• Founders = Stylized version of the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus (founders).

2.11 = OBVERSE  female figure, “Venus”—goddess, divine ancestor of Julius Caesar’s clan. More
personalized imagery because of the Venus but still working within Republican iconography.
REVERSE  triumphal imagery—spoils taken from war.

More coins…

2.12 = Name of “CAESAR” = greater degree of self-advertising.

• Gaul celebrating Caesar’s Gallic campaigns.

2.13. = a coin from the last years of Caesar’s life, when he defeated Pompey and was in sole control of
Rome.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ROMAN HISTORY, THE FACE OF A LIVING ROMAN APPEARS ON A COIN! COMPELTELY

UNPRECEDENTED EVENT

2.14 = The last step in this process by which Caesar moved closer toward kingship: He was given the title
of “DICTATOR PERPETUA” –Dictator for Life!—in 44 B.C.

In the Roman Republican system, a dictator was outside the system and meant to be temporary—
someone with emergency powers who came in to deal with a crisis.

BUT CAESAR HAD HIMSELF PROCLAIMED DICTATOR YEAR AFTER YEAR between 48 and 45 B.C.!

At the beginning of 44 B.C., he was proclaimed “Dictator for Life.” Three months later he was dead. In the
words of Professor Tarrant, “Those two things are not unconnected.”

Images from Lecture 4

4.1
- Bronze statue of Cleopatra
- Cleopatra’s duality: pharaonic style vs. next image which shows her as Greek
4.2
- Bust of Cleopatra
- marble head
- Greek representation (Hellenistic Greek ruler iconography) – like a goddess in Greek art
4.3
- Papyrus document giving a Roman resident in Greek permission to purchase property
- Signature is “genesto,” which is Greek for “let it be so” – may be Cleopatra’s signature
4.4/4.5
- Augustus’ Mausoleum
- Res Gestae was to be placed outside Mausoleum on two bronze tablets on either side of central entrance
- this lecture didn’t really refer to Mausoleum. It was more about the Res Gestae. See last slide in this lecture for
some more information.
4.6
- coins marking transition from Octavian to Augustus will also say the year of his consulship
- Cos IV – sixth consulship
- Aegypto Capta – the defeat of Egypt
4.7
- coin with civic crown
- oak leaf cluster
- military declaration
- OB CIVIS SERVATOS – “on account of citizens have being saved” – ordinarily given to centurion for saving life of
comrade – in this version, Augustus has saved the lives of all the citizens
- honor mentioned in Res Gestae
4.8
- Coin with civic crown held by an eagle
- on either side of crown are an “s” and “c” – meaning “senatus consulto” – by decree of the senate
- stresses that he did not seize honor for himself but rather that this honor was given
4.9
- CLV - “shield of virtue” – honor mentioned in Res Gestae
- coin also says SPQR – again emphasizing that Senate and People are source of honor, not Augustus himself
4.10
- features new title of Augustus which is often shown with his image (not in this picture) or with other positive
symbols
- sheaves of grain suggests that Augustus stands behind fertility and prosperity of Rome
4.11/4.12
- pantheon in Rome, this structure built by Hadrian, successor
- inscription refers to Marcus Agrippa
- shows Hadrian’s respect for tradition
- originally built in 27 BC for Agrippa, just as all these new honors were being conferred on Augustus
- Augustus had a policy of rebuilding; this is part of early rebuilding; Augustus was trying to rebuild Rome on many
levels; this building is part of actual physical rebuilding
4.13
- artist’s reconstruction of main reading room of library in Apollo’s Temple
4.14
- Temple to Apollo on Palatine hill
- if there was an early settlement with Romulus as king, then it would have been on the Palatine Hill
- thus, Palatine Hill absolutely central to Rome
- thus, important that Augustus chose Palatine Hill for one of his earliest construction projects
4.15
- Augustus’ Mausoleum
- may have been built around Actium
- huge building
- one of the first buildings put up with Augustus
- emphasize how Augustus looked ahead to the future
- Marc Antony had said in his will “ I want to be buried in Egypt”
- Augustus made it clear he wanted to be buried in Rome

Lecture 5:
Image 5.1

• This is a section of the Ara Pacis Augustae, showing members of the Imperial Family.
• It has been speculated that the man in background, with an individualized portrait, might be Maecenas
• One might expect to see Maecenas in a group portrait such as this.
• He was a powerful friend of virgil and Horace, encouraged them and their art; he was their patron.
• “Maecenas” – term for patron of the arts in some languages,
• Another facet of Maecenas’s life: Like Agrippa, Maecenas was a great advisor to Augustus
• Concerned with domestic policy and running of Rome
• He was a ‘retiring sort’, never entered the senate, remained an equestrian, maybe he didn’t care for public
recognition,
• An epicure, pleasure seeking character, wrote dreadful poetry
• We have no secure portraits of Maecenas, he was definitely not a public figure
Image 5.2

• This is a very interesting memorial of Gaius Cornelius Gallus in the center of St. Peter’s Square, outside of the
Basilica
• One of several Egyptian obelisks that came to Rome after the defeat of Egypt
• Originally brought to Rome with an inscription of “Gaius Corneluis Gallus”
• Gallus was a man who met his end because he promoted himself too much…but now his name is in one of the
most visited squares in the world, yet virtually no one who goes by notices it or knows who he is… Ironic
• Shows that you should accept your deference to the princeps even if you are ambitious; Cornelius Gallus did
not learn this lesson
• He was a good poet, good fighter, good soldier, and good friend of Octavian, so he was awarded with the
prefecture of Egypt, he was the first one to hold this position
• He was an equestrian—an example of how Augustus was expanding opportunities to people outside of the
senate
• He started to promote himself as if he were starting out to be a new Pompey or a new Caesar
• His loyalty to Augustus was caused into question and received clear indications that his death would be
welcome. He obliged around 27/26 BC

Image 5.3

• An example of the great aqueducts from the south of France

• Partly by conquest and partly by expansion, Rome had acquired an empire that extended well beyond Italy
during the Republic
• This is a visual representation of what the Romans brought with them wherever they went
• This also represents an example of how far the Roman Empire extended
• Wherever the Romans went they brought their architecture

Image 5.4
• The theatre and the amphitheatre were important to Romans because it was where they got their
entertainment
• This image is a theatre on the shore of the Mediterranean in northern Africa at Lepcis Magna
• Shows that wherever you went the presence of Roman domination was felt

Image 5.5
• Temple of Roma and Augustus at Ankara. Site of extant Res Gestae
• Augustus tells about his accumulation of power in this public inscription, which is in Greek outside the temple
and in Latin inside the temple.
• Shows how widespread Augustus’s powers were.
• “Rome and Augustus” were to be inscribed in Rome and all of the provinces.
• The original Res Gestae was posted outside his Mausoleum, we no longer have this copy, our best example of
the Res Gestae is this one

Image 5.6
• This is the statue of Augustus at Prima Porta; the unique breastplate tells tales of Augustu’s successes
• Now at the Vatican Museum
• Came from a villa at Prima Porta belonging to Livia, very fine marble statue, probably a copy of a bronze
statue
• Augustus as Imperator, general’s uniform, elaborate breastplate
• All in all, Augustus himself was not a great general, but the credit for these victories enhanced the military
prestige of Augustus
• Non-roman is handing over the standard to the legions
• Created sometime between after the return of the Parthian standards in 20 BC, and thus acting as a
celebration of this victory.
• Augustus himself presented in Classical form, the "great age" of Greek art.
• Perfectly symmetric, ordered hair, timelessly reflective expression, and eternally youthful face.
• This contrasts with the bonier, more veristic portraits of Octavian before 27 BC.
• Dressed as a military general, with cuirass, breastplate, and robe, while holding a spear in his left hand.
• Right hand is upraised to address the troops, a pose that is modeled on Doryphoros (spear-carrier), a work of
the canonical classical Greek sculptor Polyclitus.
• This statue thus bends the truth in several ways to legitimize the Augustan regime: victory over the Parthians
was actually not a battle, but rather the result of diplomatic negotiations, and Augustus himself never led
 troops. Here, though, he is presented as the ultimate military commander, which was of course one of his
titles (imperator) in the principate.
• The small figure at his side is Venus's son Eros, which serves to recall Augustus's divine lineage as a
descendent of Venus (via Caesar and originally Aeneas).
• Augustus's victories become something eternal, which don't need to be constantly asserted because they are
preordained by the gods.
• Breastplate from Prima Porta Augustus-In the center, the Parthian king extends the legionary eagle attached
to a battle standard to a Roman soldier (who could be Mars Ultor). The whole scene is an image
encompassing heaven and earth as two mourning women sit on either side of the central scene, representing
peoples whose relationship to Rome was either that of conquered provinces (the woman holding an empty
sheath; Gallic provinces) or client states (the woman holding a sword; buffer states in East or Germany). This
scene is the culmination of a perfect world order as Mother Earth reclines beneath the central scene. The two
sphinxes sitting on the epaulets are guardians of this world.

Image 5.7
• An army led by Marcus Crassus had been defeated by the Parthains, who took their military standards, this
was a national disgrace, 30 years later, in 20BC, Augustus retrieved the standards
• Coin depicts a kneeling Parthian, returning Rome's standards.
• Partial inscription: CAESAR and SIGN[..] RECE[PT..] = "the standards received."
• This image bends the truth in several ways to legitimize the Augustan regime: victory over the Parthians was
actually not a battle, but rather the result of diplomatic negotiations, and Augustus himself never led troops.
• It was big deal to Romans to regain the standards!

Image 5.8
• Coin of Augustus
• Caesar stand for Rome now, it used to be that Roma, not the princeps, stood for Rome
• Unavoidable comparison to a Hellenistic monarchy in which it is the image of the monarch that appears on the
coin
• Sense that Rome is comparable to a Hellenistic monarchy is undeniable even though the republic has been
restored

Image 5.9
• Title Augustus, head of Augustus on obverse
• On reverse: “Armenia capta”
• Implication that Augustus was responsible for the victory in this campaign, really it was Tiberius but the
princpes is the ultimate commander
• In the ethos of the principate, all victories are won by the princeps.

Image 5.10
• Coin of a Hellenistic monarch
• Roman coin that depicted Augustus invoke an unavoidable comparison to a Hellenistic monarchy in which it is
the image of the monarch that appears on the coin
• Sense that Rome is comparable to a Hellenistic monarchy is undeniable even though the republic has been
restored

Lecture 6 :

Image 6.1
• Arm outstretched as if he is addressing his soldiers
• Statues was probably painted originally
• See image 5.6

Image 6.2
• Original in front, exact cast behind it that was painted
• Cast is now touring Europe
• See image 5.6
Image 6.3
• Close up of the central scène of roman legionary receiving standards back form the Parthian, you can see
some traces of paint in the legionary’s uniform and the Parthian leader’s costume
• Parthian is wearing pants
• See image 5.6

Image 6.4
• Close up of Augustus’s head
• Stylized, specific arrangement of hair : anastole
• See image 5.6

Image 6.5

• Theatre of Marcellus is just down the slope from the Capitoline hill—important location
• Augustus’s nephew, son of Octavia, Marcellus was the first in line to succeed Augustus, he was a very
promising young man; Augustus groomed him as a possible successor. He dies in 23 at age 19.
• Posthumous indications of his importance and potential
• Made into a palazzo by a powerful Roman family years later, Mussolini tried to restore it
• Second permanent Roman theatre (first was Pompey’s)
• Public gatherings and entertainment

Image 6.6
• Virgil reading The Aeneid – Octavia faints when she hears the lament of Marcellus
• This scene was in vogue with French painters for a while
• In book 6, when Aeneas goes down to the underworld, Anchises gives him a preview of Roman history, this
passage is in the middle of the poem
• At the very end of the history, Aeneas sees a mournful figure, young Marcellus, whom Anchises calls the
“sorrow of your people” and says the gods must have thought Rome would have been too lucky if he had
lived.

Image 6.7
• Coin from around 12 BC, with Augustus on the obverse and Agrippa on the reverse.
• This shows Augustus's long search for a successor: at this point, Agrippa is picked as his top successor, and
thus is identified with Augustus.
• Augustus on obverse is wearing a crown, possibly the oak wreath which was awarded him in 27 BC by the
Senate.
• Oak is identified with military victory and with Jupiter.
• Inscription simply says "Caesar Augustus."
• On back, Agrippa also wears a crown (note parallel), this one consisting of ship's beaks and battlements
(corona rostrata), awarded for his prowess as an admiral at Actium.
• Agrippa died in 12, forcing Augustus to search for a new successor.

Image 6.8
• Obverse : Augustus
• Reverse : Gaius and Lucius
• Augustus minted these coins as a way of designating his grandsons as his successors
• New development: children of imperial family on coins
• The boys are shown with shields and spears: Stage of military training
• Augustus was training them to be great leaders

Image 6.9

• Obverse : Augustus
• Reverse : Gaius and Lucius with their mother Julia in between them
• Augustus minted these coins as a way of designating his grandsons as his successors
• New development: children of imperial family on coins
• Clear message that Augustus is providing for the future of Rome

Image 6.10
• from the villa of Agrippa Posthumous. . . contemporary portrait of Julia
• Only child. Married Marcellus and Agrippa and then Tiberius, future emperor.
• Exiled
 • Julia slept around…different from her mother
• Julia was not one to deny her social status, dressing very lavishly and provocatively, using her sexuality,
cavorting with the young and powerful. She felt as though she was doing her duty to her father by marrying
for political reasons and providing heirs, and wanted to have her fun. This was a great contrast to her mother
who dressed plainly and played the role of demure mother.

Image 6.11
• small intaglio of Julia
• talk about the importance of the showing of family
• she looks fairly young, maybe 30 or so, with her tied back with twine or rope or something, and looking very
different form the often idealized portraits of Roman woman, this is very much her being represented, not a
god-like interpretation of her appearance
• Talk all about Julia and her ways….

Image 6.12

• head of livia with attributes of goddess ceres (hair and headdress)

• Livia with attributes of Juno or Ceres: using traditional female roles to make her novel position more readily
acceptable.
• Livia was very strong and took much power. She was seen as manipulative
• Octavian and Livia were married in 38 BC
• Marble stature of Livia, looking like Ceres (aka Demeter), you can tell by the wavy hair and headdress, which
make her look very matronly. Ceres was the goddess of agriculture.
• This was a deliberate attempt to show Livia as a nurturing, caring mother, just like Ara Pacis. This was an
image she crafted carefully to hide the reality that she wielded enormous power with Augustus. Also
interesting that Ceres, who was a kind goddess, was also potentially vindictive and spiteful. When Pluto, the
god of the underworld kidnapped her daughter Persephone, she refused to let anything grow in the fields,
(explanation for winter)
• Appears very prim and matronly, as a Roman woman should. This shows the important role that women
could play within Roman culture, as Livia was Augustus's trusted confidant. After Augustus's death, Livia
played the role of Queen Mother and was immensely powerful behind the scenes. Yet her appearance here is
humble, without any trappings or overt signs of power

Image 6.13
• Bust of Livia
• Unwavering loyalty to Tiberius : she wanted him to be Augustus’s successor
• Roman uneasiness of a powerful woman at the heart of Rome

Image 6.14
• Image of Livia holding an image of the deified Augustus
• She became a custodian of his cult
• Position of dominance

Lecture 12: Make Love, Not War

While Nicole wanted substantial description of each image, the images from this lecture perhaps do not
all deserve so much attention, as they were used as a list of examples to prove a point. The first two
images, however, do deserve attention.

12.1-Manuscript Depicting Virgil

This image is not contemporary to Virgil, but is a typical depiction of the author.
Typical image of any author with writing desk, scroll box,
The box contains papyrus scrolls, many of which would have been used in a work such as the Aeneid. The
boxes were called capsi (sp?).

12.2-Cornelius Gallus Manuscript Fragment

The fragment is papyrus, the typical material used for writing in Augustun Rome.
Cornelius Gallus is the author of this text.
Very little of Gallus work still exists, but he wrote elegy, like Ovid, Propertius, and Tibullus.
Elegeic scroll has a distinctive meter-hexamater paired with pentameter. The pentameter comes second,
and the indent for the shorter second line is visible on this scroll.
This fragment was published in the 1970’s
This is where the details for the images become somewhat redundant. The main point is that erotic and
phallic images were common throughout Rome. The reason Tarrant is making this point is to contrast this
to elegiac poetry, which was surprisingly clean in that sex is rarely describe and obscene language is
essentially nonexistent. The images below show the various places, mediums and forms that these erotic
depictions might take. The specifics are not that important, but I’ll fill in a bit when necessary.

12.3-Erotic Wall Painting From Pompeiian Brothel

This type of image was not considered disgraceful, and even though this particular image is from a
brothel, it could also be found in other locations.

12.4-Erotic Image of Mirror Back

This is to show that erotic are could appear in many mediums.
An interesting note, on the wall behind the couple making love is another image of a couple making love.
Interesting layering effect...

12.5 Phallic Mosaic

Erotic imagery tended to focus on male genitalia, specifically the phallus.
Depictions of the phallus did not have to be private, as this image is located in a mosaic pavement. How
much more public can you get?

12.6-Exvoto Phallus
On a random humorous note, this slide is entitled “The Dancing Phallus” because during lecture it was too
low on the screen, so the man in the back tried to lift it up. In the process it ‘danced’ causing much
tittering in the audience and full blown laughter when Tarrant jokingly said “The Dancing Phallus.”
The uncovered phallus is the original form, later a fig leaf was placed over it.
This image represents a stone tablet labeled Exvoto. These tablets were essentially thank you cards to the
gods. To solve a problem Romans would pray to a god/ancestors or whoever their chosen deity was for
aid and make a vow or “votom”. In return for the Gods aid they promised a certain payment, generally a
sacrifice. Stone tablets (Exvoto) were often left as a thanks to the Gods. The person who made this tablet
was apparently suffering from erectile dysfunction.

12.7-Phallic Oil Lamp

This is again an example that phalli could appear in many different mediums.
It was not uncommon for representations of the phallus to perform useful (non-sexual) household tasks,
in this case, holding oil.

12.8-Priapus, wall painting, Pompeii

The character depicted here was common throughout the Roman world and was called Priapus.
Priapus was equivalent to our scarecrow in function. He, however, scared away birds/ animals with his
threatening phallus.
The painting shows a fruit basket near Priapus, suggesting that his normal location is in the garden.
While not here, the phallus would likely have been painted red to highlight the ‘threatening’ nature of the
overlarge phallus.
This fragmentary wall painting also shows Priapus weighing his member, although the other half of the
scale used as a counterweight is lost.

12.9-“The Flying Phallus” -or- the Winged Phallus

This is perhaps an uber phallic symbol, in that there are multiple phallic images (tail, normal phallus,
head, feet/paws) contained in this one flying phallus, of which the head is the central member.
The central phallus is winged and has three bells hanging from it. Likely this object was meant to frighten
off bad spirits. The bells would probably have helped that.

Images and Prof. Tarrant’s and my comments from Lecture 14

14.1
• This is a painting that was done during Ovid’s day
• Shows that his work well already well know enough to be worthy of art
• One side shows Narcissus the other Piramus and Thisbe
• P and T the predecessors of the Romeo and Juliet story, star-crossed lovers
• They attempt to meet and each thinks the other is dead
• IN this image P is dead and T is about to stab herself
• Can also talk about the fact that this is a wall painting and significance in terms of the three themes of wall
paintings (nature, myth, and sacroidyllic)

14.2
 • Image on the otherside of the P and T one
• Shows Narcissus looking at him image
• Main points from above apply as well

14.3
• Image of the Apollo and Daphne story
• This story was a favorite one from the metamorphoses to illustrate
• There are many different ways to interpret and depict the metamorphoses
• The artist in this image chose to be subtle
• Delicately her tips fingers are just sprouting laurel leaves , the rest of her is human

14.4
• Also the Apollo and Daphne story, so comments from above apply
• Here the artist is much less restrained in depicting the metamorphosis
• Her arms are sprouting two large laurel bushes as Apollo clings to her

14.5
• Again Also A and D same basic schpeel as above
• Here the artist chooses to focus on Apollo rather than Daphne
• Notice of the depth of emotion that is portrayed
• Apollo is the main character consoling himself for having lost Daphne

14.6 and 14.7

• Berini’s sculpture
• Compare this medium to painting, it is more alive, more able to show motion
• Captures the emotions of the Apollo and Daphne story as he see’s it
• Daphane’s horror and Apollo’s confusion
• He set out to render the text in marble
• He forms the statue from the descriptions in the text but also uses his creativity
• The bark is growing up her side and her foot is putting down roots as Ovid described
• Quite the interpretation.

14.8
• Story of Eurpa from Met
• Europa is already on the bulls back and one of her friends is examining it
• The suggestion of what will happen when the bull rides off
• Also a wall painting
• Image appears sort of rigid

14.9
• Titian’s Europa
• Europa is terrified and the bull hints at being in control
• We are in the middle of the pond
• Comment on the depth of color and how the background helps to bring our attention to the main action in the
picture

14.10
• Mythological landscape
• Narcissus leaning over his reflection in the pool
• To the side is echo pining away for him
• Her friends are also interested in Narcissus looking out from above
• In this painting, the landscape if functional
• Confronted with one of the most beautiful sights in the world he turns his back and looks a himself, expressing
his self absorption

14.11
• Image of Narcissus
• Clothing is more indicative of the era of the painting and not the story
• Another artistic way of expressing his self absorption that is opposite of above
• The whole world folds away and it is just him and his image

14.12 and 14.13

• Daedalus and Icarus story
• Pompeian wall painting
 • Being mourned expressively by this female figure, not sure who she is meant to be

14.14 and 14.15

• Brueghel’s Fall of Icarus
• The obliviousness of people around to the tragedy in their midst is important
• A where’s waldo effect ; Icarus is falling as the world continues, not easy to spot him at first

14.16 and 14.17

• Titian had a very strong, intuitive sensibility to what Ovid was portraying
• Danae impregnated of Jupiter but not by force
• You can see that Jupiter was a welcomed presence
• Her position in the bed, the lazy position of the cloth

14.18 and 14.19

• Marsayas challenged Apollo to a musical competition with the pipe
• Apollo won an skinned Marsayas alive as his punishment
• The flayers are going about their work with surgical precision
• The role of violence and sympathy for violence
• Note the expression on Marsayas’ face

14.20 and 14.21

• Story of Acteon finding Diana and her nymphs bathing naked ito the forest
• She see him and turns him into a stag and his own dog devour him
• Acteon’s gesture shows that he is shocked and surprised
• Acteon had no intention of finding Diana
• His head is a deer, but the rest of him is human, an artistic decision
• This, the Marsayas image and Callisto Titan paintings have a similar theme perhaps of the wrath of the gods,
and in a way the unjustified wrath

14.22 and 14.23

• Titans; talk about it in relation to his other depictions and how the stories of the Metamorphoses are a favorite
of his.
• Callisto who is dissed for getting pregnant for morality reasons and thrown out of Diana’s posse
• Shows how guardians of morality can lack humanity (tied to the theme mentioned above)
• Image of anguish on Callistos face compared to what seems to be stern ambivalence of Diana’s

Lecture 15:
15.1 5th century vase – depicting the killing of Agamemnon
• Famous scene from Greek tragedy  the killing of Agamemnon by Aegisthus and his wife Clytemnestra
• This vase was excavated in Ertruria, the Etruscan part of Italy
• The great majority of vases made in Greece we know from Italian sources
• The Etruscans were avid collectors of Greek art and included priceless objects such as Greek vases in tombs
• These collections of Greek art are the media through which we know much of what we do about Greek vase
painting

15.2 Archaic centaur - Lefkandi

• The centaur is an example in Archaic art of the experimentation with different variations on the human
• The centaur is a combination of human and horse
• The centaur is also an example of the Archaic tradition of imaginative art
• There are many different types of representations of the centaur, this one in particular looks like a human
figure with a horse extension

15.3 Archaic centaur

• See 15.2
• Also, this example is a vivid mixture of the human and equine features
• This example also gives its name to the title of a famous catalogue of human variations entitled “The
Centaur’s smile”
• Centaurs such as this one are an example of the general archaic fascination with the human combined with
another animal form

15.4 Archaic gorgon on temple pediment

• Greek temple with gorgon medusa 600bc
• Medusa was a mortal and her head was cut off and was put on shields and pediments to ward off enemies
 • Archaic art highly imaginative (e.g., in depictions of the "monstrous" such as sphinxes and gorgons), but non-
naturalistic in its treatment of human figure:

15.5 Memnon with gorgon shield

• fifth century
• red figure
• Trojan war hero memnon falling into the arms of his mother eos
• Eos was the goddess of dawn
• Names of the figures are written by them, interestingly some are forwards and some backwards since
apparently this is before left-right was standardized. The presence of hero's mothers/patron goddess is a
visual version of Virigl and Homer's accounts of battles wherein the gods played important, active roles.
There's another image, I think on this vase, of Aeneas being wounded (by Diomedes?) and Venus, his mother,
is catching him. The art is archaic which, on vases, means a lack of body/muscle definition. We talked a lot
more about what archaic means for sculpture (lack of recognizability, stiff positioning, tightly curled "eastern"
hair, flat falling drapery that isn't disturbed by wind or the body beneath it).

15.6 Archaic sphinx

• Another combination of human and animal forms
• In the case of the sphinx, the human is always female even though centaurs may be either male or female
• The sphinx has the body of a lion and wings of an eagle: hence, it has the threefold combination of being
eagle, lion, and female.
• Sphinxes generally occupy the role of guardian figure
• This particular sphinx is positioned on top of a column (which may be a memorial or grave monument). The
Sphinx is there to protect the monument and ward off anyone who may wish to do the monument harm

15.7 Archaic kouros

• This is the Archaic depiction of an “ordinary human being” (more specifically, a young man)
• The kouros is often a very restricted depiction, and this image is a characteristic example of this
• The pose is formal with not a great deal of movement. The boy’s left leg is slightly in front of his right and
his arms hang down by his side. His face is not a highly individualized face, but rather that of an idealized
type (a physically healthy young male). The kouros’ eyes are carved and his hair is highly stylized

15.8 Archaic kouros

• Archaic greek kouros (600bc)
• individuality not an aim; young men (kouros, pl. kouroi) and young women (kore, pl. korai) presented as
generic types
• poses mainly frontal and direct; drapery of women's clothing treated in primarily vertical terms
• details of face and body abstractly rendered, e.g., hair, beards, ears, eyes, musculature of torso
• late Archaic examples show softening of features, greater realism of physical depiction.
• one foot slightly forward but no contrapposto, clenched fists; the position is unnatural and rigid. Egyptian
influence is evident.

15.9 Archaic kouros

• The archaic depiction of hair is highly stylized.
• Very prominent symmetrical ringlets at the front
• Beaded effect at the back
• The hair is spread across the shoulder
• This is the typical depiction of male hair

15.10 Archaic dying warrior from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina

NOT EXPLICITLY DISCUSSED IN LECTURE, BUT ANOTHER DEPICTION OF THE ARCHAIC HAIRSTYLE. SEE 15.9

15.11 Archaic female

• kore is a female kouros
• this one is from 530bc
• stylized facial expressions, esp. characteristic "archaic smile" for both male and female figures
• details of face and body abstractly rendered, e.g., hair, beards, ears, eyes, musculature of torso
 • poses mainly frontal and direct; drapery of women's clothing treated in primarily vertical terms
• late Archaic examples show softening of features, greater realism of physical depiction
• When the Kore was sculpted, she would have been painted with bright (garish) colors, traces are still evident
in the hair. The significance of these Archaic figures to Rome is that all styles of Greek art were available to
Romans, and they could imitate and combine it at will, so we see the influence of all the styles in Roman art.
Early scholars saw archaic art as primitive, with Classical symbolizing perfection and Hellenistic representing
excessiveness and decadence (Tarrant takes a more positive stance on Hellenism). A very significant aspect of
these Archaic figures is the contrast between generic figures like the korous and kore, since the period
rejected depicting anyone as an individual on recognizable terms, and the veristic portraiture of the early
Roman era, where individuals were depicted with great identifying detail and iconographic statues and coins of
rich or important people were extremely common

15.12 Archaic female

• Once again we see an elaborate arrangement of the hair
• The drapery is very elaborate, yet highly abstract
• The dress forms a unique zigzag pattern
• The drapery is very vertical

15.13 The Kritios Boy

• This depiction of the Kritios Boy comes from the beginning of the 5th century when Greek art began to move
from archaic to a very different mode of representation
• This shows a kouros, yet one with a rounder, softer face
• The musculature of the chest and abdomen area are more defined
• The pose is still relatively vertical
• Greater realism, and more detailed represetation
• Although the hair is still stylized, it is different from the archaic

15.14 The Kritios Boy

• Kritios boy in the transition from archaic to classical greek style
• Classical art presents bodies in a wider range of positions, with more realistic modeling of anatomical detail,
but still with non-individualistic rendering of facial expressions
• pose shows greater freedom in depicting action, ability to present a three-dimensional view; features still
stylized, but showing more variety of expression
• This sculpture is more natural and realistic than the kouros and kore, the weight is shifted to one leg in the
beginnings of a counterbalanced pose, but he is still very rigid, the muscles aren’t completely natural, face still
lacks individuality. While the Classical period starts to portray more individual figures, the sculptures are still
mostly idealized (made to look like gods), conventionalized (made to look like traditional portraits, e.g.
Homer), or stereotyped (identifying an individual based on imagery that connects them to a profession or
characteristic

15.15 Late Archaic bronze bearded God

15.16 Late Archaic bronze bearded God
• There are two renditions of the same figure from different periods
• Both depict a bearded god which could be either Zeus or Poseidon (god depicted as fully adult and in a
position of releasing a projectile of sorts)
• 15.15 is a Late Archaic example in which the God has a highly stylized beard and Archaic smile
• 15.16 comes from the equivalent of the early Classical period. The arms are in full extension, and the God’s
powerful physique is represented in greater detail in the classical tradition of exploring the possibility of the
body in motion

15.17 Early Classical – The Tyrrannicides

• This statue represents a shift from the Archaic to classical period, and is found in Naples
• There is an interesting parallel between the story of the Tyrranicides and the story of Lucrecia and Tarquin,
however this story has a homosexual aspect
• Athens in the late 6th century was ruled by tyrants, however two aristocratic Athenians (Aristogeiton and his
younger lover Harmodius) plot to kill the tyrants. When their plot fails, they are both executed, however their
death leads to the expulsion of the tyrants decades later.
• This statue exhibits the dynamic force of forward motion, showing gesture and movement of the body. The
differentiation between the mature Aristogeiton and the Kouros-type Harmodius is pronounced
15.18 Apollo Sauroktonos - Classical
15.19 Classical Hermes (Mercury) with baby Dionysus
• These two images represent the youthful male divinity figure
• 15.18 depicts Apollo in a scene also depicted in Book 1 of the Metamorphoses, when Apollo kills the serpent
(garden snake)
• Both images show the shift towards a greater sophistication in pose. Both divinities place the weight of their
bodies on one leg and the body is curved in a s-shape
• The face of both gods is calm, reflective and gentle

15.20 Classical Aphrodite

15.21 Classical Aphrodite
• The images show that Aphrodite was traditionally depicted as either nude or clothed
• In both images, Aphrodite expresses a calm serenity, and graceful composure
• These sculptures are Roman copies of Greek originals
• In the clothed depiction Aphrodite’s drapery clings to the body in the tradition of the Classical period female.
At the knees and thigh, the drapery outlines and almost reveals the body

15.22 Bronze dancer – Metropolitan Museum NYC

• This bronze statue demonstrates the amazing creativity of Hellenistic art
• The dancing female figure is very elegant
• Drapery has enveloped her figure fully, yet her elbow protrudes noticeably
• The complexity of this image gives a vivid sense of motion

15.23 Hellenistic – The Dying Gaul Capitoline Museum, Rome

15.24 Hellenistic – The Dying Gaul Capitoline Museum, Rome
15.25 Hellenistic – The Dying Gaul Capitoline Museum, Rome
• These three images are different views of the same work, a Gaul dying from a mortal wound
• The figure has been mortally wounded
• His hair and moustache mark the figure as non-Greek (e.g. stiff and upright hair)
• His pose is undignified, yet more realistic
• The barbarian is now suitable for depiction although it was not before the Hellenistic era. In a sense the
character’s barbarian identity is advertised and accentuated

15.26 Hellenistic – Boy with thorn

• The boy is a seated figure and his legs are crossed
• The pose allows the artist to depict what the body looks like an a particular (and slightly unusual) pose
• The young boy is simply removing a thorn from his foot: thus, the subject exemplifies the mundane, unheroic
subject

15.27 Hellenistic Boxer

• This is a rare example of a surviving bronze statue
• The man is an elderly figure, his body is not perfectly muscled, he is beginning to show the effects of aging
• He is a boxer, wearing the equivalent of boxing gloves. He has a “cauliflower ear” and very crooked nose,
both signs that he has been punched quite a few times. His face looks aged. Hence, he is far from an
idealized form
• Art is beginning to be depicted as almost lifelike

15.28 Laocoon group – Vatican Museums

• This is one of the most famous artworks from antiquity
• The image comes from Book II of the Aeneid
• Laocoon is the Trojan priest who warned the Trojans not to accept the horse that the Greeks left
• Serpents are rising from the sea to strangle Laocoon and his two sons
• The artist is able to show Laocoon in a strained position, his arms are extended and his legs under full torment

15.29 The resting Faun

• The barberini faun: a sleeping satyr (Hellenistic)
• In specific area of portraiture, archaic and classical Greek art averse to or not interested in representing
individuals in recognizable terms
• Also, in classical Greek city-states political iconography--e.g., on coins--does not feature images of individual
leaders. No identifiable portraits from archaic period; classical so-called "portraits" either idealized (Pericles),
 conventional ("Homer" and some philosopher-portraits), or drawn to represent the image the person in
question conveys through their work
• use "unnatural" poses for characterizing effects, erotic and tormented respectively; compare Ovid's interest in
the Metamorphoses in showing how the same material can be treated in radically different ways.
• Hellenistic art puts technical achievements to new uses, cultivating colorful/exotic, dramatic, and more sharply
individuated images. N.B. This is an overtly positive description meant to counteract earlier judgments
couched in terms of "decline" or "decadence." (For Hellenistic art as a reaction to Classical style
• While Roman art reflects elements of all Greek periods, it is most heavily influenced by Hellenistic; many
Romans were fascinated with Hellenistic decadence and many leaders were portrayed as Hellenistic heroic
nudes

Lecture XVII

17.1 Gemma Augusta

Seated Jupiter image of Augustus. This image is evidence of the divination accolades that Augustus would later
receive.

17.2 Alexander Heroic Nude-Sackler

Alexander is a historical model for the heroic nude. This image is based on a life size statue, but it is only a few
inches. Alexander was likely to help start the trend of Heroic nudes among the other he set for depicting rulers.

17.3 Ob: Augustus in Mourning, Rev: Agrippa

Augustus is bearded to denote his mourning for Julius Caesar, but also to give him the gravitas found in traditional
Roman leaders. Augustus was an untraditional leader because of his youthfulness, Romans usually valued age in their
leaders. This may be seen as an attempt to downplay Augustus’ youthfulness by relating him to Julius Caesar through
his mourning.

17.4 Bust of Augustus

Very full face. Less Hellenistic depiction compared to image 17.5. Both 17.4 and 17.5 are from the same pre-Actium
period.

17.5 Bust of Augustus

More angular face. This is a more Hellenistic depiction because Augustus shows slight distress from the twisting of his
head

17.6 Cameo of Augustus

Fully nude style, with little clothing. Augustus is rendered as Poseidondivinizing effect. This may have not been
intended for public display. Notice how during the pre-Actium period, Augustus makes little attempt to not portray
himself as a Hellenistic ruler.

17.7 Colossal Head of Augustus-Vatican

Another dramatizing effect of depicting Hellenistic rulers is colossal size statues. Here is just another Hellenistic
rendering of Augustus.

17.8 Colossal Foot-Rome Postcard

Emphasizes the large scale of colossal statues

17.9 Augustus Heroic Nude with Foot on Globe

“Son of the Deified Caesar.” Augustus in is the typical heroic nude with his foot on the globe to emphasize his control
over the world and he is holding a naval staff to commemorate the victory of Actium.

17.10 Bust of Augusts

Less Hellenistic style, more classical. His face shows a feeling of harmony, calm, symmetry, and balance. Image of
Augustus and not Octavian. The new depiction of the princeps is late classical not Hellenisticreturn to the tradition
of the Republic.

17.11 Prima Porta

Classical rendering of Augustus. Only unnatural suggestion is the Cupiddivination. This is an image of Augustus as
dux (leader).

17.12 Prima Porta

See Above

17.13 Doryphoros by Polycleitos

Spear Carrier. Canonical Greek Statue. Positioning of Prima Porta is modeled after this Classical Greek style.
However, there is nothing superhuman about this image.

17.14 Augustus/Doryphoros Comparison

Shows that the Prima Porta is not ideal compared to the Greek Classical style. Shows the blending of Classical and
Roman styles. Both heads have the signature hair style of the middle part, not an anastole (known as the Prima Porta
hair style).

17.15 Bronze Augustus-British Museum

Prima Porta image of Augustus (Prima Porta hair style). Found in Sudan, shows that the style of depicting Augustus
varies based on region.

17.16 Togatae Augustus

Shows Augustus in a civic/religious capacity. After the death of Lepidus in 12 BC when Augustus assumed the
position of Pontifex. Face and hair is the same of Prima Porta, but different dress.

17.18 Augustus of Ara Pacis

Another place where we see Augustus in a religious capacity. Can only see his head at the front of the religious
procession, the body broke off. Augustus is depicted much taller than he actually is compared to the other priests.
Head is damaged as well, but the hair is not reminiscent of the Prima Porta styleForbes head hair style.

17.19 Bust of Augustus-Forbes Head

Another style of depicting Augustus. Defined by side swept hair. We do not know if this style is a contemporary,
precursor, or follower of the Prima Porta style.

17.20 Ob: Augustus, Rev: Eagle with Corona Civica

Augustus is never shown as elderlyhint of divination/relieve anxieties of succession. R.J. Tarrant didn’t talk about
the meaning of other images on the coin, just Augustus’ persistent youthfulness as depicted on the coins.

17.21 Coin of Augustus 20 BC

Compared to image 17.20 which was five years earlier, Augustus looks even younger. Once again, R.J. Tarrant didn’t
talk about the other images on the coin.

17.22 Coin of Augustus

See Above

17.23 Coin of Augustus

See Above

17.24 Bust of Augustus

Sculpture is a freeer medium than coinage, yet Augustus still looks very young when he is depicted in his late 60’s

17.25 Bust of Augustus-MFA

This is a bust of Augustus created 20-30 years after his death. Notice the timeless beauty of his facein accordance
of the never aging depictions of Augustus. Almost aging in reverse20 years after deathdivination. Luxurious
Prima Porta style.

17.26 Bust of Augustus

See 17.24same thing.

Lecture 19

19.5
An image of the Polyphemus story from Homer’s Odyssey is in the middle of the painting. At the bottom, there is an
image of the daughters of King Danaus, who were condemned to fill leaky pitchers with water in Hades for all eternity,
as a punishment for murdering their husbands at their father’s command.

19.6 & 19.7

These images are of paintings depicting mythological stories from literature, grouped into “theme rooms.” Both
images in 19.7 (Narcissus and Pyrmaus-Thisbe) are from stories in Ovid’s Metamorphoses on the theme of ill-fated
love. The images in the “theme room” depicted in 19.8 are all from Ovidian stories on the theme of unnatural love
(incestuous love, etc.).

19.8 & 19.9

These are both paintings of the Perseus-and-Andromeda story, which is told in the Metamorphoses. Because the two
paintings have so many similarities (e.g., the characters are standing in similar positions), we can conclude that there
was an iconographic tradition on which both paintings were based. This demonstrates that there exist iconographic
traditions that are independent of any literary basis.

19.10, 19.11, & 19.12

These statues demonstrate how Greek mythological figures got incorporated into Roman household objects, such as
lampstands. Note the archaic elements in 19.10: the stylized hair, the mythical animal. And note the classical
elements in 19.11: the serene sinuous posture, especially.

19.13
-This wall-painting from Livia’s house depicts an idealized landscape. Note how all the different kinds of fruit-trees are
bearing fruit at the same time, something that would never happen in real life.
-This is comparable to the images of idealized flora on the side of the Ara Pacis.
-We can compare this idealization of nature to the idealization of the countryside that is seen in works of literature
such as the Eclogues, the Georgics, and Tibullus’s elegies.
-This idealization of nature was kind of nostalgic, since scenes of rural purity were declining in reality.

19.14 & 19.15

These two paintings are filled with common sacro-idyllic motifs: sheep and shepherds, goats and goatherds, columns,
etc. The wall depicted in the background of this painting is supposed to indicate that the scene takes place outside
the city limits; rural life was considered more pure and moral than urban life, and rural people were thought to be
more religious.
-Shrines to rural deities are called aediculae. There is often more than one such shrine depicted in a single painting;
the multiplicity of shrines is supposed to indicate the widespreadness of rural piety. This is comparable to the
aedicula in the background of the Aeneas image on the Ara Pacis.

19.16
-This painting tells two stories from the life of the cyclops Polyphemus
-On the right side of the painting, there is an image of Polyphemus throwing boulders at Odysseus’s retreating
ship. This is a mythological story that is told in Homer’s Odyssey.
-In the lower left-hand side, there is an image of Polyphemus wooing the nymph Galatea, a story that is told
in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
-These are examples of how Roman house-paintings frequently depict scenes from Greek myths.
-In the lower right-hand corner, there are wandering sheep (Polyphemus is a shepherd). This is an example of how
paintings frequently incorporate sacro-idyllic imagery even if their focus is on something else.

19.17 through 19.22

These Egypt-themed paintings were displayed in homes of members of the royal family, demonstrating just how much
Egyptian culture/religion had infiltrated the upper tiers of Roman society. The coin, dating from the battle at Actium,
depicts the outcome of the battle as though it were simply a conquest of Egypt.

Lecture XXIII: Images

23.1: Children on the Ara Pacis

o This is from the Ara Pacis on the South Side
o The children are in the foreground of the procession which represents the Augustan emphasis on youth –
meant to show fertility of the family
o Gaius Caesar is clinging to his father, Agrippa’s toga
o Imperial family representing hopes for providing leadership far into the future – symbol of continuity and
stability
o Tries to make his family the ideal Roman family; a model for what a Roman family should be – tried to
cultivate traditional virtues by showcasing his family
23.2 & 23.3: Livia
o Both of these images depict statues of the head of Livia
o Livia creates the potential for powerful or maybe frightening woman
o Livia in relation to Augustus – she gives the appearance of deference, she never tries to equal Augustus
o Livia gains the influence without the outward appearance of having any control or power
o Looking at coins of Augustus throughout his principate we can see him associated with many people, but there
are no coins whatsoever showing Livia in conjunction with Augustus, only after his death does she appear on
coins so they do not appear like monarchs together
o Role of Livia is very carefully managed and maintained
 o Speaking of powerful women and Roman fear of woman with power – Ovid’s Metamorphoses and his stories
about powerful goddesses and their vindictive behavior, like Diana reprimanding and exiling Calypso
23.4: Ara Pacis – Livia following Agrippa
o Livia takes a maternal role on the Ara Pacis
o Livia is placed next to Agrippa to suggest a foster mother who now takes care of the child who lost its father
(monument built after Agrippa died)
o Livia can be presented positively in these traditional maternal and wifely roles
23.5: Livia & Tivernius (MFA)
o This depicts Livia holding her son, Tivernius
o It portrays Livia as a maternal figure, who is caring for her son
o This shows a positive representation of Livia in a wifely role, and helps promote Augustan agenda of family
values
o Instead of showing Livia as a powerful figure, she as shown as a gentle motherly figure to comply with the
Roman fear of a woman in power, even though she is married to Augustus
23.6 & 23.7: Julia (one is a wall painting)
o Contrasted with Livia’s role, Julia’s appointed role was to be a wife to her various husbands (Marcellus,
Agrippa, Tiberius) but also to be a mother and a provider of heirs (succeeded for Agrippa)
o Julia herself thought that her position was well known for her fancy dress (fashionable compared with Livia
who dressed plainly)
o Julia played multiple roles – wife and Caesar’s daughter “He forgets that I am Caesar, but I do not forget that
I am Caesar’s daughter”
o There were rumors about Julia’s promiscuity, before she was exiled for it
23.8: Antonia the Younger
o This is the bust of Antonia the Younger
o Antonia became the wife of Drusus, the mother of emperor Claudius, and two other emporers
23.9: Tomb depicting Married Couple
o Sculpture of a married couple on a tomb – shows the lifelong union and partnership of marriage
o A forceful image of solidarity, of a couple who have grown together, shown by their clasping hands and the
wife’s hand on the husband’s shoulder
o Many Roman marriages were arranged marriages while in youth, but there is still an expectation that they will
grow into a lifelong bond with eachother
o Augustus was interested in shaping family values of Roman society for the purposes of strengthening marriage
by making divorce difficult to obtain and by punishing adultery more severely
o Augustus also wanted to encourage the production of children by offering privileges to couples with three
children or more
o Augustus wanted to maintain social hierarchy – wanted to strengthen and maintain class divisions, so he
made tighter restrictions of who you could marry when climbing the social ladder
23.10: Eulogy of Turia inscription
o During the time of the civil war there were a lot of anecdotes citing the loyalty of wives to their husbands and
this inscription memorializes the eulogy (in sourcebook) of Turia, it is probably a speech he gave at her
funeral
o Funeral speech delivered by the husband for his wife and then carved on a large inscription, a very
conspicuous public statement of love for his wife
o Romans did not tend to be very emotional in their expressions, but it is clear that there is an intense devotion
of the husband to his wife and his memory of her
o Married for over forty years, she protected him and stood up for him when he was proscribed, and she got
him pardoned
o Recalls aspects of their private life – she could not bear children, and though they were extremely happy
together, she offered to let him divorce her so he could marry someone who could give him children (shows
some subservience of wife to husband) but the husband was furious with her for even suggesting that he
leave her
o Husband says that marriages like theirs that continue for so long happily are rare, so that indicates that
divorce was frequent among the upper classes in Rome
o Relates Virgil’s Dido to this woman, because she has many Roman mental attitudes – what she finds to be
unbearable is that by falling in love with Aeneas, she has lost the status of a woman with only one husband
23.11 & 23.12 Ara Pacis – Agrippa (11) & Antonia and Drusus (12)
o Monuments can change their meaning over time – fortune took a hand to change the meaning of the Ara Pacis
because Agrippa was dead by the time the alter was dedicated
o Drusus was dead in the year that the alter was dedicated
o Hopes disappointed and dreams shattered after the dedication of the alter
Lecture 24.

24.1 Bust of Caligula.

-Hellenistic
-ruler portrait
-Caligula was a successor of Augustus
-But unlike Augustus he was pretty damn crazy- for example he made his favorite horse Incitatus a senator
-Caligula was one of Augustus’s direct successors who “displayed perverted echoes of A’s qualities”- megalomaniac,
incest,
-Caligula draws a sharp contrast to Augustus because he was really bad while A. was good.

24.2 Bust of Nero

-Hellenistic (why else would his mouth me sculpted that ugly), but with perfect hair…
-ruler portrait
-successor of Augustus
-like Caligiula, Nero is an example of a bad successor to A.
-Killed his mother after several failed attempts.
-Burned much of Rome to build his “Golden House” (Domus Aurea). The opposite of Aug’s building program.

24.3 Cuirassed statue of Trajan

-Hellenistic
-Similar to Prima Porta statue- cuirass, doryphoros stance, hands outstretched.
-One of the “5 good emperors”
-A good successor of Aug.
-Especially known for military success and administration.

24.4 Close up of Trajan

-see 24.3
-Not the cuirass has images on it, much like the Prima Porta Augustus.
-Looks like sphinxes- symbol of Augustus.
-Nature of statue and sphinx images indicate a comparison between Trajan and Aug. Both were good. Yay.

24.5 Head of Hadrian

-Hellenistic
-ruler portrait
-Like Trajan- good successor of Aug. one of the “5 good emperors”
-known for cultural sophistication
-first bearded emperor which helps us identify him

24.6 Another head of Hadrian

-See 24.5
-Laurel crown- sign of victory, rulership etc.

24.7 Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

-Hellenistic
-ruler portrait
-equestrian statue (one of the quintessential equestrian statues in all of art history)
-On the Capitoline hill
-Another one of the “5 good emperors”
-known for dutifully maintaining a vast empire
-also a philosopher
-this image more shows his military achievements
-Richard Harris played him in “Gladiator” (not really pertinent to the exam but cool nonetheless)

24.8 Head of Marcus Aurelius

-see 24.7
-shows MA’s philosopher side

24.9 Charlemagne’s Throne at Aachen

-Medieval
-in 800 AD Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne King of the Holy Roman Empire, calling him “Charles Augustus”
-Charlemagne imitated Aug’s style of rule- ruler as a moral exemplar and reformer. His life was recorded by
monk/biographer Einhart- similar to Suetonius.
-chapel at Aachen is much like the Palatine.
-Carolingian synthesis of Roman and Christian culture.
-use/reform of late Roman script as basis for modern languages

24.10 Napoleon
-entered into power as “first consul” cf Julius Caesar and Augustus.
-use of classical/Roman idiom to express grandeur
-Paris as an imperial city
-triumphal arch
-Mausoleum of Napoleon- with inscription of deeds- cf Res Gestae
-connecting monuments and boulevards in Paris- Augustan sense of city as space for imperial messages

24.11 Napoleon as Emperor

-see 24.10
-Napoleons rise to overt imperialism

24.12 Trevi Fountain in Rome

-Baroque
-marks the culmination of the Aqua Virgo (aqueduct) that was first found by Roman soldiers with the help of a country
girl.
-aqueduct built by Agrippa
-continuation of the city planning/building of Augustus to today
-fountains mark Roman tradition of water provisions as a means of civic benefaction
-Neptune in the center, god of the sea
-Abundance and Salubrity are in the niches on either side of Neptune

24.13 Trevi Fountain, right side relief close-up

-see 21.12
-this relief shows the country girl revealing the source of the water to Roman soldiers

24.14 Trevi Fountain, left side relief close-up

-see 21.12
-This shows Agrippa ordering the building of the aqueduct

24.15 Piazza San Pedro in Rome

-in the Vatican
-obelisk in center to mark nodal point of the city.

24.16 No Idea what this is, tried to translate it, got something funky
-but I can tell you that this probably comes from Mussolini’s rule
-evoking Roman imagery- powerful symbols from a period of original greatness
-here we have SPQR and the she-wolf who raised Romulus and Remus.

24. 17 Via dei Fori Imperiali in Rome

-from time of Mussolini again
-big grandiose march in the via
-trying to recapture grandeur of Augustan Rome

24.18 Arch of Constantine

-Again from Mussolini
-refurbishment and highlighting of ancient monuments
-evoke antique dignity of Rome
-not necessarily evoking Augustus, but the Roman Empire as a whole. Augustus is just the quintessential Roman
Emperor
-Constantine copied Augustus’s eternal youth look, but also more monarchical imagery, and after conversion to
Christianity- Christian motifs.

24.19 Mussolini's troops marching past the Arch of Constantine

-see 24.18

24.20 Mussolini and Hitler viewing Ara Pacis fragments

-Both H. and M. appreciated and imitated classical buildings in style and scale.
-This image is ironic- M. and H. wanting to create Roman like empires- have peace like on the Ara Pacis. And yet they
caused World War II

24.21 Old Ara Pacis and enclosure

-The place of the Ara Pacis built by Mussolini before it was moved and renovated etc. in modern times.
-an example of M. refurbishing ancient monuments

24.22 Mussolini Inscription- Restoration of Rome and Ara Pacis

-surviving wall of original building that enclosed the Ara Pacis that M. built
-contains a fragment of the Res Gestae.
-RG inscription displayed as M. saw himself as a new Augustus.

24.23 Mussolini and Hitler visit the Colosseum

-see 24.20
-H. and M. as modern imperialists admiring the Roman legacy

24.24 Hitler overlooking plans for Berlin

-Hitler’s passion for buildings and city planning.
-Hitler did not directly imitate Augustus, but they were still similar:
-both replaced weak republics with autocracies. Legitimized by constitutional forms
-aims for total reshaping of culture and society
-promise of national renewal and return to traditional values
-popular

24.25 Hitler overlooking plans for Berlin

-See 24.24

24.26 Plan of Berlin

-Hitler’s plan for Berlin
-grand, laid out, like how Augustus reshaped Rome

24.27 Volkshalle-Design
-huge monumental building planned by Hitler and his architect Speer, but never built.
-inspired by the Pantheon
-Hitler’s house would have been connected to it like A.’s house was connected to the temple of Apollo.

24.28 Hitler's Mausoleum- Design

-cf Augustus’s Mausoleum
-inspired by the Pantheon

24.29 Ronald Syme

-caricature of Ronald Syme, a famous classicist.
-in his 1939 Roman Revolution, Syme argued that Augustus manipulated people and used propaganda well.
-fueled by disgust at fascist appropriation of Augustus as a hero figure.

24.30 Togate Augustus

-See slides from lecture 17. This was just the final image of Augusts

MFA

1. This relief shows a scene of Hercules chasing after ‘bad’ centaurs who have stolen wine from him. He had brought it
to drink with his friend Pholos, and they heard of it, and stole it. This is clearly archaic—the musculature is not well
defined, the images are static and viewed from one angle, and the males are nude.

2. These two sphinxes show the large almond shaped eyes and half smiles that characterize archaic art. Also, parts of
the relief are not original, but are reproductions (different color)

3. The scene on the bowl is Aeneas getting pierced with a spear. His mother Venus is catching him. This is still in red
figure, which is what was used at the time. This is less clearly archaic (in my opinion…). I would just memorize that
this is archaic. The figures are slightly more simple perhaps, but there is a lot of movement which throws me off. On
the side, it is important to note that Cassandra is naked, representing her rape. This is to shock people, as women
were not portrayed nude often.

4. This is probably an athlete. You can tell it is archaic because of the braids you can see on his shoulders, the arms
that are at his side, and the lack of muscle definition. I believe if you look at a rear view picture, he also has the
archaic mullet.

5. There was a helmet on this head, which you can tell because of the flat hair. The portion that was not covered by
the helmet is curly, and again we see a quasi mullet in the back. He has the archaic almond shaped eyes. I cannot see
on this view if he has the smile, but if you ever see a picture with that half smile, remember that it is archaic!
6. This early classical (between classical and archaic) bowl shows Diana punishing Acteon. You can recognize Diana
because of her bow and arrows. This is an archaic vase, which is obvious because Diana’s garments are very straight
and show none of her figure at all. One thing to discuss about this image is the way Acteon is portrayed, with lots of
little dogs, and he has not been turned into a stag as in other depictions, but Diana is shooting him.

7. This is a man in a processional. He is archaic for all of the characteristics discussed before (hair, eyes, smile, lack of
muscles). Note that he is shown in a very Egyptian way, which is also sort of part of the archaic period. He is ‘moving’
but the image does not have very much motion. The unnatural arm position is also something to note (but for the life
of me, my roommate and I cannot remember why, so if anyone does and can email it out, I would appreciate it!)

8. This is a vase showing Hercules and Ajax playing a game. This image on the website shows red figure, but notably,
the other side is black figure! Black figure was harder than red figure, because you had to actually paint it on, as
opposed to scratching the image out. The artist is showing off that he can do both styles of art. This is still considered
archaic. I think the best way to identify archaic vases versus classical ones is that the only classical vase we see has
people overlapping, with a foreground and a background, whereas none of the archaic vases really have that.

9. This is also an archaic image, for the same reasons as listed above. Could this be the Etruscan tomb which is
mentioned in image 10? If so, see my description below (look at the man’s curly hair, and his beard—slightly less
archaic)

10. umm…there is no image here. But, about the Etruscans—it “seems” more classical but is still within the archaic
period. According to Sondra, the Etruscans “did their own thing”.

11. This is a sarcophagus. What is most interesting about it is how the woman and man are both present on it. They
are shown with almost equal importance. It is highly indicative of the importance which was placed on fidelity and
romantic love. I would identify it as late classical based on the fact that while they are lying down, the bodies are not
static, but have bent knees and there is a great deal of detail on the bodies.

12. This is an image of the fall of troy—these was a GREAT description of this during the final review. If you did not
attend, email me and I’ll send you my notes from it.

13. Hermes had a hat which is no longer there. You can see the flat part of his head. He has the vague expression of
the classical period, and the flat, expressionless eyes. He is very pretty and not individualistic. This is a really
important way to identify this as a classical statue.

14. Enter muscle definition—this is a huge departure from the archaic period. You can see the hip is flung out,
showing motion, and his stomach has a lot of muscle. You can note again that this is a male nude, and that women
were not depicted nude.

15. The wet look! This is the closest that women will come to being shown naked, OTHER than Diana being shown
with one breast bared. You can see the movement is more present in this statue—her leg is coming out. Also, the
female form is being explored (note—roman women tried to imitate this wet look and would get their garments wet
and stand still until they dried to make it work). The statue has no head-often, statues were without heads so that
Romans could add whatever head they wanted.

16. Athena is easily recognized by several key characteristics. She always has a medusa head, an owl, and a
weapon/shield. All of these are in this statue. You can also see that she is depicted wearing matronly clothing, which
is standard. You can see that there is more detail and definition in her body, but still—women are never shown nude,
and she has the classical vacant gaze, full lips and eyelids.

17. Socrates shows the philosopher’s beard, which is key in both the classical and Hellenistic periods (also in Roman
period I believe). If you see a beard, it’s *almost* always a philosopher. It is harder to tell that this is classical as
opposed to Hellenistic, but rely on his blank stare. Also, there are no really hideous characteristics shown, and the
Hellenistic period tended to focus on realism (read-ugliness) and extremes.

18. You can tell this is Hellenistic because it is ugly! He is a Cyclops, although it is interesting that he still has 2 closed
eyes which the sculptor did not seem to know what to do with. He has a large nose and large lips, and a uni-brow.
Also, the Hellenistic period, by emphasizing realism, makes him look more like an individual, and less like an ideal.

19. Statues of leaders began to be popular in the Hellenistic period, and it is possible to recognize Ptolomy in this
image. He has a large nose, which is one thing that makes him individual. Again, he is not as ideal or attractive as
classical images, so you can tell he is Hellenistic. He also has a facial expression, which is new in the Hellenistic period
—before that, they had vacant looks.

20 & 21:
-head of Meander
-Hellenistic (b/c of the strive towards individualization and realism)
-stylized hair
-his head is twisted
-full expression
-deep eyes
-slight wrinkles
22-24:
-Head of philosophers
-Hellenistic (b/c of the strive towards individualization and realism)
-philosopher types (hinted by beard)
-wrinkles
-deep eyes
-a more full expression
25:
-Weary Hercules
-Hellenistic (b/c of extremeness and strive towards realism)
-weary—drunk/hung over
-w/ lion skin and club typical of him
-Hellenistic posture
-extreme muscles—a bit more flabby
26:
-Homer
-Typically Hellenistic (b/c of extremeness and strive towards realism)
-old to the extreme
-loose skin
-balding
-shadow on eyes—to show his blindness
-gives idea of wisdom
27:
-Torso of satyr Marsyas
-Hellenistic (b/c of posture and realism)
-dynamism of body due to the fact that he is being skinned alive
-body hair
-indicates that he is a satyr
-extreme musculature
28:
-Head of Roman man (terracotta death mask—bust of ancestor)
-Roman (b/c of portraiture and gravitas)
-truthful representation of this man (what he looked like)
-gravitasto show age (gravitas was praised in Roman culture)
29:
-Portrait of bald man
-Roman (b/c of portraiture and gravitas)
-truthful representation of this man (what he looked like)
-gravitasto show age (gravitas was praised in Roman culture)
30:
-Fragment of relief featuring the head of Agrippa
-Roman (b/c of portraiture and gravitas)
-truthful representation of what Agrippa looked like
-the chin is characteristic of Agrippa
31:
-Tomb Relief of the Publius Gessius family
-Roman
-military official flanked by freed man
-balding
-not extreme age, but realistic
-Freed woman commissioning statue
-Republican hairstyle
-Slaves then were slaves for political reasons
-Relation b/w patron and client
-Patron in center
-Symbol of respect
32:
-Cameo of Augustus driving chariot of Neptune
-Roman
-not for mass propaganda
-to be circulated among friends
-Augustus’ heroic nudity, along with his association to Neptune by the use of the chariot, equates him to a god
-the use of Neptune, sea-god, most likely in boast of victory over Mark Anthony at Actium
33:
-Cameo with Livia and Tiberius
-Livia connecting herself to the gods
-one can speak of Livia as a mother or also of her as Augusta, ruling behind the scenes
34:
-Portrait of Tiberius
-looks a lot like Augustus-“Augustus look”-although he is not his son
-such a look used to legitimize his ascension to power or candidacy for princeps
35:
-Forbes Head
-portrait of Augustus
-Roman individualization
-a certain degree of gravitas
-Forbes hairstyle-hair brushed to one side
36:
- Deified Augustus after death
-Classical look
-Vacant expression
-Classical look used to legitimize
-A lot of it on the Ara Pacis
-Perfect human face
Youth is in now
37:
- Breastplate (originally of Domitian)
-Legitimize as military dux
-Prima Porta imagery
-Celebration over Germania
-Model breastplate
-To put the head of different emperors
38:
-coin of Julius Caesar
-lituus (augur)-to signify his role as pontifex maximus
-inscription indicates J.C.’s fourth time as a dictator
-extreme gravitas depicted-showing perhaps J.C.’s auctoritas and wisdom
39:
-Gold aureus of Augustus
-youthful, posthumous Augustus
-deified
-perfect human face (classical depiction)

CHARACTERS

I didn’t know how to create a family tree but I found this really good one online. The only thing it’s missing is
that Julius Caesar had a sister named Attia, she married Octavius, and that Attia and Octavius were the parents
of Octavian/Augustus.
Poets’ Muses
- mistress (‘domina’) was important aspect of elegiac poetry; implied a female dominance and male
subservience
- pseudonym’s often have poetic associations; “Cynthian”, “Delian”, “Lycorean” all epithets of Apollo, god of
poetry; relation
- usually a forbidden love b/c it wasn’t socially acceptable or the woman was taken

Propertius and Cynthia

- Cynthia mentioned in Book IV, poem 7 of Propertius’ Elegies; but this isn’t included in our reading
Tibullus and Delia
- Tibullus mentions Delia in Book I, poem 1 of his Elegies
Ovid and Corinna
- Ovid wrote about Corinna in his Amores, Poem I.5; he is the only one that seems to possess his mistress
Catullus and Lesbia
- lesbia was somebody’s wife; V, LXXIX, LXXXIII
Gallus and Lycoris
- lycoris apparently a mistress of Mark Antony; mentioned in Gallus’ fragment A

Aeneid Character List

Important Mortals

Aeneas, Family, Friends, and Lovers

Aeneas: The titular protagonist of the Aeneid, Aeneas is one of the great epic heroes. One of the ancestors of
Emperor Augustus, Aeneas is one of the only survivors of the Trojan War. A fearless warrior and remarkable leader,
Aeneas guides his men through uncharted waters and terrible adversity, finally bringing them to the land to which
they were destined: the land that would one day become Rome. Aeneas is the embodiment of a number of
characteristics highly valued by the Romans of Virgil’s era, including piety (obedience to the will of the gods), courage,
skill at arms, leadership, and determination.

Achates: One of Aeneas’s most faithful and trusted men, Achates remains by his side throughout the tale.
Anchises: Aeneas’s father, for whom Aeneas has a deep love and respect. Although Anchises dies during the journey,
he maintains his role as a wise counselor, appearing to Aeneas in a series of visions and dreams and helping him to
determine the most appropriate course of action. In Book VI, Anchises guides Aeneas through the Underworld and
reveals the future of Rome to his son.

Ascanius: The son of Aeneas with his first wife, Creusa (who dies during the flight from Troy). Also called Iulus,
Ascanius is a symbol of Aeneas’s future (and, by extension, the future of Rome). He is a motivating force for Aeneas,
and though still a child, demonstrates remarkable courage; he is clearly destined for greatness.

Creusa: Aeneas’s first wife and Ascanius’s mother, Creusa pleads with Aeneas to flee Troy to save their family. When
their group is besieged during the flight, Aeneas, in a panic, loses Creusa. He returns to Troy in search of her, but is
met by Creusa’s shade, who urges him to escape so that he can fulfill his destiny to rule a kingdom and win a royal
bride.

Dido: Queen of the African city of Carthage, Dido is one of the strongest female characters in the Aeneid. Dido left
her homeland, Tyre, when her husband was murdered by Pygmalion, and began construction on a great new city.
Although she is portrayed as Aeneas’s equal, Dido is undone by her love for him; the gods use her as a pawn in their
conflict over the fate of the Trojans. Overwhelmed by passion, Dido builds a funeral pyre and stabs herself atop the
structure using Aeneas’s sword.

Lavinia: Daughter of King Latinus and Queen Amata, Lavinia is the sole heir to Latium. She is pursued by both
Aeneas and Turnus, and she is designated as the prize that will go to the victor of the battle.

Evander: Pallas’s father and the ruler of the Italian city Pallanteum, Evander aids Aeneas in his battle against the
Latins. Evander is also related to Aeneas, since both men are descendants of Atlas.

Pallas: Evander’s son and Aeneas’s companion, Pallas is killed by Turnus. Overcome with anger when Turnus
carelessly slings Pallas’s belt over his shoulder, Aeneas kills Turnus to avenge his friend.

Trojan Royal Family

Hector: Hector is the husband of Andromache and the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. One of the
greatest Trojan warriors, Hector is killed during the fall of Troy. His shade appears to Aeneas in a dream on the night
of the battle, warning him to flee the city.

Priam: King Priam of Troy is killed during the fall of his great city. Priam is husband to Queen Hecuba and father to
the slain Hector. Priam is a noble character who displays courage and piety even in the face of certain death. Aeneas
is powerfully affected by the death of his king.

Andromache: Queen of Buthrotum, Andromache is a Trojan and the widow of the great Hector. Remarried to
Hector’s brother, Helenus, Andromache is overwhelmed with emotion when Aeneas and his men arrive on her shores,
and offers them counsel.

Hecuba: Queen Hecuba of Troy, Priam’s wife, pleas with her husband not to go into battle during the fall of Troy, but
to stay with her and her daughters and pray at the altar.

Helenus: The ruler of the city of Butrothum and Andromache’s new husband, Helenus is also brother of the slain
Hector. A fellow Trojan, Helenus offers Aeneas and his men shelter when they arrive on his shores, and he gives them
guidance.

The Latins

Latinus: The Latin King, Latinus is a respectful, warm man who welcomes Aeneas and his men. He also encourages
Aeneas to marry his daughter, Lavinia, thereby instigating the battle with Turnus, Lavinia’s other suitor.

Amata: The wife of Latinus and the Queen of Laurentum, where Aeneas and his crew seek their destiny, Amata is
strongly opposed to the proposed marriage between Aeneas and her daughter, Lavinia. Favoring the disagreeable
Turnus, Amata becomes a mortal assistant to the goddess Juno in her quest to destroy the Trojans, and eventually
takes her own life once she realizes that Aeneas is destined to win the battle.

Turnus: Aeneas’s greatest mortal opponent, Turnus is the leader of the Latin warriors. Turnus opposes Latinus’s
decision to allow the Trojans to settle in Latium, and he is angered by Aeneas’s pursuit of Lavinia. When Aeneas slays
Turnus in the climactic moment of the Aeneid, the event symbolizes the triumph of virtue and piety over pride and
egoism.

Juturna: Turnus’s sister, Juturna is Juno’s pawn in instigating the battle between the Latins and the Trojans.
Drances: A Latin leader with an old grudge against Turnus who urges Turnus and Aeneas to put an end to their
battle.

The Trojan War

Laocoon: The only Trojan to question the appearance of the wooden horse at their gates, Laocoon hurls a spear at
the object in anger. When two enormous sea snakes kill Laocoon and his two sons, the Trojans believe that it is a
portent and that Laocoon was killed because he profaned the horse. Fearing further wrath from the gods, the Trojans
decide to take the horse into their city, precipitating the fall of Troy.

Pyrrhus: A Greek warrior who enters Troy in the belly of the wooden horse.

Sinon:A Greek warrior who turns himself over to the Trojans, Sinon tells them that he has defected to their side and
convinces them to bring the wooden horse into the city.

War with the Latins

Camilla: One of Turnus’s allies, the female warrior Camilla leads a doomed attack on the Trojans during the battle in
Latium. Her death is avenged by the goddess Diana, who sends an emissary to slay the Etruscan warrior who killed
her.

Arruns: The Etruscan warrior who slays Camilla, and who is in turn killed by one of Diana’s emissaries to avenge
Camilla’s death.

Mezentius: The former king of the Etruscans and one of Turnus’s most faithful allies. Mezentius is a complex
character because he is portrayed as cruel and heartless, yet he is so overcome by grief when Aeneas kills his son,
Lausus, that he sacrifices his own life in an attempt at revenge.

Nisus and Euryalus: These Trojan warriors are best friends and are slain by some Rutulians while attempting to
carry news of Turnus’ attack to Aeneas.

Diomedes: The Greek Diomedes is one of the heroes of the Trojan War, but he refuses Turnus’s request to aid him in
his battle against Aeneas.

Other People Aeneas Meets in his Journey

Anna: Dido’s sister, Anna has good intentions, but unwittingly sets into motion a series of events with disastrous
consequences. Advising Dido to surrender herself to her love for Aeneas and forget her vow to her slain husband, she
places the life of her sister in grave danger.

Sychaeus: Sychaeus, Dido’s husband, was killed by Dido’s brother, Pygmalion. Following his death, Dido pledged
never to marry again, but her vow is threatened by the appearance of Aeneas, with whom she falls passionately in
love. Sychaeus and Dido are reunited in the afterlife.

Achaemenides: A Greek warrior who was accidentally abandoned by his shipmates in Sicily when they fled the one-
eyed Cyclops Polyphemus, Achaemenides is rescued by Aeneas and his crew, who take pity on him and allow him to
join their ranks.

Palinurus: The pilot of Aeneas’s ship, Palinurus is killed when Somnus, the god of slumber, puts him to sleep, causing
him to fall overboard. He manages to swim ashore but then is slain by the island savages.

Acestes: King of the Sicilian city of Drepanum, Acestes offers Aeneas and his men a safe harbor when they are driven
ashore by a raging storm.

Immortals and others

Allecto: One of the Furies, Allecto is sent by Juno to start the war between the Latins and the Trojans.

Aeolus: The god of the winds, Aeolus raises the waves in an attempt to capsize Aeneas’s ship, thereby angering
Neptune, god of the sea.

Apollo: The god of the sun, Apollo comes to Aeneas’s aid when he and his men stop in Delos.

Circe: A sorceress who transforms men into beasts, Circe’s island is narrowly avoided by Aeneas and his men.
Cupid: The god of desire, Venus’s son Cupid makes Dido fall in love with Aeneas by disguising himself as Ascanius,
Aeneas’s son.

Hercules: Renowned for his strength, Hercules is honored with yearly celebrations by King Evander and his subjects
for having slain the monster Cacus.

Juno: Queen of the gods and wife of Jupiter, Juno is the driving force behind Aeneas’s trials. She despises the Trojans
because Paris, a Trojan, did not choose her as the fairest of the goddesses in a contest of beauty. Although Juno’s
wrath causes Aeneas considerable difficulty, she is ultimately unable to alter his fate.

Jupiter: King of the gods and husband of Juno, Jupiter is the most powerful of the gods and is the ultimate arbiter of
fate. Although many other gods attempt to intervene during Aeneas’s journey, it is Jupiter who guides him towards his
destiny.

Mercury: The messenger god, Mercury repeatedly appears to Aeneas to communicate the wishes of the gods.

Minerva: Another goddess who was not chosen by Paris as the fairest, Minerva aids Juno in her quest to destroy the
Trojans. Minerva protects the Greeks during the battle in Troy.

Neptune: The god of the sea, Neptune is angered when Aeolus, god of the winds, intervenes in his territory and
raises the waves in an attempt to capsize Aeneas’s ship. Neptune calms the seas and allows the Trojans to continue
on their voyage.

Saturn: Father to both Jupiter and Juno, Saturn is the former king of Olympus.

Sibyl: Priestess of Apollo. Prophetess who leads Aeneas into the underworld.

Venus: The goddess of love and Aeneas’s mother, Venus appears to her son a number of times throughout the poem
to offer him aid.

Vulcan: Venus’s husband and the god of fire, Vulcan crafts a set of arms for Aeneas that helps him win the battle
against Turnus.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses
Characters
All names from section assignments and lecture notes are included + more:

Books I,II
Styx—river that runs through Hades
Lycaon—king of Arcadia, feeds Jove human flesh, is transformed into a wolf.
Deucalion and Pyrrha—Deucalion is son of Prometheus. He and Pyrrha recreate men after the flood inflicted by Zeus,
after the bad Iron Age.
Daphne—nymph avoiding Apollo’s advances, transformed into laurel tree by the river god who is her father. Apollo
claims not to pursue her as a foe, but Ovid makes the comparison clear; Apollo is the hound after the rabbit. Another
irony, the god of healing can't heal himself of love's wound. Laurel then adorned his hair.
Io—daughter of Inachus, maiden loved by Jove turned into a heifer to protect her from the jealousy of Juno. Ovid
demeans Jove and Apollo as symbols of order and stability, gods who give way to Eros and the dangerous flux of
desire. Later Ovid explores taboo subjects like incest, and finally leading up to the impermanence of Rome itself.
Mercury/Hermes—messenger of gods, agent of Jove.
Argus—hundred-eyed monster ordered by Juno to watch Io. Mercury kills Argus, as Argus falls asleep and loses his
head.
Acoetes—faithful devotee of Bacchus(god of wine), fisherman who lost his parents and traveled the seas.
Tiresias—prophet, soothsayer of Thebes.
Phaethon—(means “bright” in Greek) son of Sun god (but mentioned as son of Apollo in the index) and that of the
nymph Clymene. As a proof that he is indeed son of Sun-god (sun-god=Phoebus), he wants his chariot for one day.
He couldn’t maneuver the horses and fell burning in a river. If Flood was brought about by human wickedness
(Lycaon), Fire results from divine folly, when Phoebus makes a promise before knowing his son's request. Ovid
includes several playful anachronisms throughout his poem, as when Phaethon frightens the bear constellation before
its creation in the next story. Phaeton’s story is the longest story in the entire work.
Vulcan—god of fire and metalworking. Husband of Venus. Vulcan created major artistic works for the Sun—his palace
doors and fiery chariot, perhaps in gratitude for the Sun discovering the affair of his wife Venus with Mars.
Callisto—nymph huntress adept of Diana. Daughter of Lycaon who survived the flood; in an earlier version of the
myth, her rape was the reason for Lycaon's rebellion against the gods. Jove comes to her appearing as Diana—lust
disguised as the symbol of chastity. She is exposed pregnant by Diana, and then Juno transforms her and her son into
a bear. Finally Jove makes them into constellations. Her actual name is not mentioned in the story.
Ocyrhoe—daughter of Chiron and nymph Chariclo. Expert of prophetic singing. Chiron's foster son is the unnamed
Aesculapius, the famous healer, and she predicts his future. Transformed into a horse when the fates forbade her to
speak further.
Herse—object of love of Mercury. Mercury, usually Jove's messenger, now stands in his place as potential seducer. Up
to now the god has been only killer, thief, and sadistic transformer; now he follows his father's noble example as
lecher.
Europa—Jove in the form of a bull plays and then kidnaps Europa taking her into the water on his back.

Book III
Note: In book three, Ovid follows a theme of people seeing something that they should not see: Actaeon sees Diana
bathing, Semele sees Jupiter's deadly glory, Teiresias saw two serpents mating, Narcissus views his reflection,
Pentheus spies on the women's rites.
Cadmus—brother of Europa, Cadmus' slaying of the serpent and sowing the "dragon's teeth" are exploits mentioned in
countless myths. Founded the city Thebes and married Harmonia.
Harmonia—wife of Cadmus, daughter of Mars and Venus.

Actaeon—Grandson of Cadmus, is turned into a stag by Diana. His only "sin" is seeing the goddess naked by accident.
Actaeon's metamorphosis is ironic - the hunter becomes the hunted.
Pentheus—son of Echius, cousin of Actaeon (who, in contrast to Pentheus did not deserve his fate) laughed at gods,
was punished by Bacchus and transformed into a war horse.
Semele—duaghter of Cadmus, mother of Jove’s sun—Bacchus. Jove comes to her “as he comes to Juno,” all this by
Juno’s planning, and her son is taken from her womb before she dies. She is a willing lover, not raped.
Echo-- another one of Juno's victims, punished for distracting her while Jupiter escaped from another adulterous
escapade. Says the last words she hears—amazing play with words. Rejected by Narcissus.
Narcissus—loves himself and looks at his reflection in water. His love for himself is the consequence of the prayer of a
rejected youth.

Book IV
Note: Much of this book is in the form of meta-narrative (stories within stories).
Pyramus and Thisbe-- this story of star-crossed lovers may have influenced the tradition leading to Romeo and Juliet.
Leucothoe—daughter of King Orchamus of Persian cities and of beautiful Eurynome. Taken by the sun-god, but Clytie
found out and jealous told her father who killed her. Clytie was changed into a sunflower.
Hermaphroditus—son of Hermes and Aphrodite. Very handsome. Was wanted by Salmacis—nymph whom he did not
want. Then the gods merged them together in a male/female body. this time the girl "rapes" the unwilling boy.
Salmacis foreshadows other aggressive females whose stories are more sordid, including incest (Byblis, book 9;
Myrrha, book 10).
Ino—sister of Semele, ant of Bacchus, wife of Athamas. Juno kills Athamas and punishes Ino for her sister's fault; the
victim is innocent.
Perseus—son of Zeus and Danae, slayer of Medusa—a Gorgon—Perseus looked at her face in the reflection of his
bronze shield and thus was not transformed into stone. One of several heroic epics in the poem (Heracles, Meleager,
Aeneas) with no obvious thematic connection to the surrounding material. The story of Perseus and Andromeda is the
classic knight-rescues-damsel-in-distress-from-dragon. Ovid mentions how Medusa was once lovely, but her seduction
by Neptune in Minerva’s temple angered the goddess, who transformed her beautiful hair into serpents, another case
of the rape victim being punished while the divine rapist escapes.

Book V
Muses—tell Minerva about the contest of storytelling. Introduction of story of Ceres/Demeter and Proserpina—
daughter of Ceres, she is kidnapped by Pluto and eats of the pomegranate seeds while in the Underworld; is
sentenced by Jove to spend half the year with Ceres, half with Pluto.
Bok VI
Arachne—a spinstress greater than Pallas Athena (=Minerva) who enters into competition with the goddess. As she
wins, Pallas becomes enraged and strikes her four times around the head. As Arachne attempts to hang herself, Pallas
transforms her into a spider.
Niobe—queen of Thebes where Latona was worshiped. Niobe was jealous of Latona. Mother whose children were slain
by Latona and Apollo. Turned into a stone by Jove. Irony: Niobe was the "happiest of all mothers had she only not
thought herself the happiest." By boasting that she has more children than Latona (also known as Leto), she brings
down the wrath of Apollo and Diana. Granddaughter of Atlas.
Latona—goddess worshiped in Thebes. Mother of Apollo and Diana.
Philomela—sister of Procne, is raped by Tereus and had her tongue cut out, with her sister feeds Tereus his son. She
and Procne are transformed into brids.
Procne—daughter of Pandion, wife of Tereus, sister of Philomela, mother of Itys whom she feeds to Tereus after
Tereus rapes Philomela
Tereus—king of Thrace, husband of Procne, father of Itys; he rapes cuts out the tongue of Philomela and is tricked
into eating his son.

Book VII
Medea—Daughter of Aeetes she protects Jason from the tasks her father sets him, and eventually marries him.
Sorceress who helps Jason get the Golden Fleece. She also makes his father young again. After he divorces her she
goes insane, kills her old family and marries Ageus. Ovid barely mentions Medea's killing of her own children out of
jealous revenge
Jason—leader of the Argonauts. With the help of Medea he gets the Golden Fleece.
Cephalus—Prince of Athens and Husband of Procris, whom he later kills by accident
Procris—Wife of Cephalus. Sister of Procne and Philomela. she is killed by Cephalus' hunting spear (which never
misses) after he mistook her for a Boar.

Book VIII
Scylla—duaghter of King Nisus, lover of King Minos. Guardian of a dangerous rock in the straits of Messina. She killed
her father and offered his death and his kingdom to Minos—king of Crete, in exchange for his love. He refused. She is
destroyed, transformed into a bird Ciris.
Daedalus—artist and inventor who built the labyrinth for Minos in Crete. He fled with his son on the wings he
constructed with wax.
Icarus—son of Daedalus. Approached the sun too closely and fell. Minera transformed him into a bird Perdix.
Theseus—hero of Attica, son of Aegeus.
Baucis and Philemon—poor couple, but most kind and faithful. Rewarded by Jove for their hospitality. They wanted to
die together and were transformed into an oak and a linden tree.
Erysichthon—king who scorned the gods and was punished and made always hungry. His daughter changed shapes
and married different people to feed her father off of her dowry.

Book IX
Acheolus—river god, rival of Hercules for the hand of Deianira.
Deineira—second wife if Hercules, whom she accidentally killed with the robe with Lerna’s poison before he became a
god.
Nessus—centaur who loved Deianira—wife of Hercules.
Alcmena—mother of Hercules, had him with Jove and had a difficult travail.
Byblis—fall in love with her brother Caunus. Writes him a love letter. She ends up putting the guilt on him, "don't be
my murderer,"—example of psychological manipulation. Even after being rejected, she continues to pursue, feeling no
shame, only regret that her first attempt failed. She convinces herself that she should do what she thinks right. The
gods also married siblings (i.e. Jove and Juno).
Iphis and Ianthe—Cretan girl. daughter of Ligdus and Telethusa. Iphis is bourn a daughter and before the day of
marriage to Ianthe is transformed into a man by Egyptian Goddess Isis.

Book X
Orpheus—Thracian musician, renowned as the best player of the lyre. Losing his love Eurydice short after their
marriage, he journeyed down to the underworld to retrieve her, but failed because by looking back at her while
leading her out, he broke the rule imposed on him and lost her again. Son of the muse Calliope, from whom he gets
his musical gifts. Orpheus also sailed with Jason and the Argonauts, overcoming the enticing voices of the Sirens (who
lured men to their deaths) with his more beautiful music.
Eurydice—A nymph loved by Orpheus, killed by a snakebite.
Hyacintus—young man loved by Apollo, who accidentally killed him with a discus, transformed him in a crimson
flower.
Pygmalion—artist who fell in love with his sculpture. Venus transformed sculpture in woman and they married.
Myrrha—daughter of king Cinyras. Loved her father and committed incest with him. Transformed into the tree myrrh.
Had a son Adonis—both sister and mother for him.
Hipomenes—winning suitor of Atalanta.
Atalanta—beautiful, very quick in running, warrior maiden.

Book XI
Midas—honoured Bacchus, who granted him his wish of turning everything into gold. Bacchus later took back this
awful gift.
Thetis—chief of the Nereids, mother of Achilles.
Peleus—father of Achilles, caught Thetis in the cave following the instructions of Ceyx.
Sleep—god of Sleep, mentioned within the story of Ceyx. This episode uses Virgil’s technique in an episode with Dido
in the Aeneid.
Daedalion—brother of Ceyx.
Chione—daughter of Daedalion, loved by both Mercury and Apollo. Had two twins from them, but boasted herself
above Diana in beauty. Diana shot an arrow which pierced her tongue and muted her.
Ceyx—son of Lucifer—the morning star, king of Trachis.
Alcyone—wife of Ceyx. daughter of Aeolus, the god of the winds. Ceyx leaves her to go on a sea expedition and dies.
She grieves for him and goes to the shore to find his body. He kisses him and both become birds.
Morpheus—sent by Sleep to give the news to Alcyone, in the form of Ceyx.
Aesacus—loved Hesperia. Pursued her and then she died of a snake bite. He throws himself off a cliff in despair and
becomes a bird—a submerger.

Book XII-XV
Iphigenia—daughter of Agamemnon—who was offered as sacrifice to Diana. Diana saved the girl and replaced her
with a deer.
Priam—He is the last king of Troy and husband to Hecuba (among the slaves ttaken to Greece after the fall of Troy).
Father of Hector and Paris.
Paris: He is a son of Priam and Hecuba, and Hector's brother. He kidnapped Helen and started the Trojan War.
Calchas: He is a Greek soldier who made Iphigenia a sacrifice to Diana.
Agamemnon: He is a king of Mycenae and Greek soldier/commander during Trojan War.
Cycnus: He is a son of Neptune, and the sea-god was protecting him in the bathe with Achilles. When Achilles tried to
kill the man with his bare hands, Cycnus was transformed to a swan.
Nestor: He is a king of Pylos who is famous for his wisdom and eloquence.
Caeneus: Caenis is a woman turned into a man after Neptune raped her, but granted her this wish. He also made her
invulnerable to spears and arrows. Later, at the wedding of Pirithous and Hippodame the Centaurs ganged up on
Caeneus and buried him under a forest of felled trees. Caeneus left the pile as a brown bird.
Achilles: Son of Thetis and Peleus. Killed Hector in the Trojan war. The sea-god asked Apollo to help get rid of
Achilles, and so Apollo directed Paris' arrow to Achilles. Post-death went to Elysium.
Pirithous: He is a friend of Theseus and husband of Hippodame.
Centaurs: They are a race of creatures that are half-man, half-horse.
Periclymenus: He is Nestor's brother who is killed by Hercules.
Hector: He is Paris' brother and Priam's son.
Ajax: He is a son of Telamon and a great Greek hero of the Trojan War. Ajax and Ulysses fought for Achilles’ armor
after his death. But Ulysses was a better speaker who addressed the generals, among whom he ranked, and he was
awarded the armor. Ajax killed himself in defiance to prove that only he could subdue himself.
Ulysses (Odysseus): king of Ithaca and a great soldier of the Trojan War.
Philoctetes: He is a friend of Hercules and keeper of Hydra's arrows.
Hecuba: She is Priam's wife. Revenged her son Polydorus agains Polymestor. When the king of Thrace met with her,
she clawed his eyes out. The Thracians attacked her for injuring their king, and she was transformed into a dog.
Polydorus: He is Priam and Hecuba's youngest son.
Polymestor: He is a king of Thrace and Priam's son-in-law
Polyxena: She is Priam and Hecuba's daughter
Memnon—son of Aurora, killed by Hercules. Jove took the smoke from his funeral pyre and created a flock of birds
that divided and battled each other until they fell into the ashes from which they'd been born. Each year the birds
fight in memory of Memnon and his mother's tears of mourning are dewdrops.
Aeneas: He is the son of Venus and Anchises. He is a Trojan hero. Founder of Rome. After Aeneas' victory over
Turnus, Venus asked Jove to make her son immortal, and so it was. Aeneas' descendants ruled Latium.
Scylla: Once a beautiful girl, she became a sea-monster and then a cliff.
Galatea: She is the sea-nymph love of Acis and Polyphemus.
Polyphemus: He is a giant Cyclops who loved Galatea.
Acis: He is the son of a river and love of Galatea.
Glaucus: He is a fisherman transformed to merman. in love with Scylla, but she scorned his advances, so he went to
Circe for help.
Dido: She is a queen of Carthage who killed herself because Aeneas left her.
Sibyl: She is the priestess of Apollo at Cumae. She is also a mortal who lived for centuries because she wished to
have as many birthdays as grains of sand in a small pile. Her body withered away as she aged.
Acheamenides: He is a shipmate of Ulysses who'd been rescued by Aeneas.
Macareus: He is a shipmate of Ulysses. Had been one of the men Circe transformed to a swine with a magic drink
while they were on her island. He was only changed back to human form because Ulysses married Circe and asked for
his men's recovery as his wedding gift.
Picus: He is a king of Latium and son of Saturn. Turned into a woodpecker by Circe, since he turned her down and
since he loved his wife Canens.
Turnus: He is a king of Rutuli of Latium.
Diomede: He is a Greek hero and friend of Ulysses.
Pomona : She is a wood nymph of Latium and wife of Vertumnus. Devoted to her garden. She would let no one enter
without her permission, and she especially had no interest in men initially.
Vertumnus: He is an Italian deity, the god of the changing seasons. Convinced Pomona to marry him.
Romulus: He is the son of Mars and father of Roman people.
Numa: He is the second king of Rome.
Myscelus: He is the founder of Crotona.
Pythagoras: He is a famous Greek philosopher. He believed in eternal life, and changing forms: "There is no death --
no death, but only change / And innovation; what men call birth / Is but a different new beginning; death / Is but to
cease to be the same."
Hippolytus: He is Theseus' son.
Cipus: He is a legendary Roman praetor.
Julius Caesar.
Augustus: do you know who that is?… Jove foresaw that Augustus would have a prosperous reign.

Objects/Places
Styx River: The river Styx flows through the underworld, and a vow made by that river is binding even for the
immortals.
Python: Python was a great snake created by Earth against her will after the flood that destroyed mankind. Python
stretched across an entire mountainside, and it took a thousand of Apollo's arrows to kill the serpent. To honor his
triumph over the beast, Apollo instated the sacred games known as Pythian, which are held at Delphi every four years
since 6 B.C.
Laurel Tree: Daphne was transformed to a laurel tree trying to escape Apollo, and so that became his sacred tree.
Naiad: Naiads are water nymphs, the daughters of rivers.
Syrinx: It is a pipe reed that Pan created for music when the nymph he chased was transformed to marsh reeds.
Peacock: The peacock is a bird sacred to Juno and the myth claims that when Mercury killed Argus, Juno gathered
the slain man's hundred eyes and put them in the feathers of her sacred bird.
Amber: Phaethon's sisters mourned him so long that they became poplar trees and the tears that they wept for him
formed amber.
Swan: Cycnus, Phaethon's kinsman and lover, also mourned him grievously and he became a swan, a bird that trusts
neither Jove, nor the sky because of the great lightning bolt that destroyed Phaethon.
Great Bear and Little Bear constellations: These neighboring constellations at the North Pole are the mother and
son duo, Callisto and Arcas. Callisto had been transformed into a bear when she gave birth to Arcas, a son of Jove.
Jove made them constellations in order to prevent Arcas, a hunter, from killing his mother.
Crow: In saving a beautiful young girl from the advances of Neptune, Athene turned her into a crow so that she could
fly away.
Mare: Ocyrhoe, daughter of Chiron, is a prophetess who is turned into a mare after foreseeing the great healing
power of Aesculapius and her own father's death.
Narcissus: The narcissus is a flower named after the young man who fell in love with his own reflection and pined
away because he could not reach the object of his love.
Mulberry Tree: Pyramus and Thisbe planned to meet under the mulberry tree, and that is where they died. Their
blood stained the white berries to the burgundy color they now maintain.
Frankincense: Phoebus fell in love with Leucothoe, but when her father heard a rumor of their affair, he killed the
girl. Phoebus could not save her, but when she was prepared for burial, he poured nectar on her body and she
became the fragrant frankincense bush.
Violet: Phoebus turned Clytie to a heliotrope, or violet.
Bats: The daughters of Minyas are turned into bats for denying that Bacchus is a true god.
Underworld (Hades): The Underworld is where the spirits of dead mortals go.
Coral: Coral first formed when Perseus wrapped Medusa's severed head in fresh seaweed. The plant became hard
when it came in contact with Medusa's head.
Magpies: The nine Pierid sisters are turned into magpies for their insurrection against the nine Muses.
Screech Owl: Prosperine turned Ascalapus into a screech owl for telling that she has eaten seven pomegranate
seeds.
Lynx: Ceres turned Lyncus into a Lynx when he tried to kill Triptolemus.
Spider: Arachne, a mortal, challenged Athene to a weaving contest. Athene turned her into a spider.
Frogs: The Lycian peasants denied Latona a drink from their pool of water, and so she turned them to frogs.
Nightingale: Philomela is transformed into a nightingale.
Swallow: Procne is changed to a swallow.
Hoopoe: Tereus is changed to a bird called a hoopoe.
Golden Fleece: Athamas' two children by his first wife, Nephele (Cloud), are threatened by their stepmother, Ino,
daughter of Cadmus who founded Thebes. Nepehle rescued her children, and put them on the back of a golden
fleeced ram. In their flight, Helle (Nephele's daughter) fell from the ram's back and drowned at what is now called the
Hellespont. Phrixus, Helle's brother, came to Colchis and sacrificed the ram in gratitude for his escape. The Golden
Fleece remained at Colchis until Jason took it away.
Osprey: King Nisus, Scylla's father, is transformed to an osprey when she kills him.
Partridge: Daedalus' nephew whom he'd killed by throwing him from the Acropolis becomes a partridge.
Guinea Fowl: Meleager is turned into a guinea fowl after his own mother kills him because he has killed her brothers.
Cornucopia: The horn Hercules broke from Achelous' head when he was a bull is made into the horn of plenty by
Achelous' water nymphs.
Weasel: Galanthis, Alcmena's servant, is transformed into a weasel because she tricked the goddess Ilithyia.
Lotus Tree: Dryope is changed to a lotus tree for picking blossoms from a tree that was once a nymph.
Cypress: Once Cyparissus, a young boy loved by Apollo. The boy begged to die when he accidentally killed a sacred
stag. He is changed to the cypress tree.
Hyacinth: Apollo named this flower for a boy he loved who was killed by a discus that Apollo had thrown.
Harlots: Venus invented prostitution when she turned the Propoetides into harlots to shame them for scorning her
divinity.
Myrrh Tree: Myrrha is transformed to a myrrh tree after her incestuous relationship with her father resulted in
pregnancy and she fled his home.
Lion: Atalanta and Hippomenes are changed to lions for defiling a sacred shrine.
Anemone: Venus made Adonis an anemone when a boar killed him.
Maenads: They are frenzied women who worshiped Bacchus.
Hawk: Apollo transformed Daedalion into a hawk.
King Fisher: Ceyx and Alcyone are transformed into these birds that mate for life and live on the water.
Elysium: Elysium is The Islands of the Blessed, like Heaven.
Dog: Hecuba is transformed into a dog after she clawed Polymestor's eyes out.
Dew Drops: The morning dew is Aurora's tears for her son, Memnon, killed by Hercules.
Doves: Bacchus turns Anius' daughters to doves.
Charybdis: Charybdis is a whirlpool across from the treacherous cliff known as Scylla.
Woodpecker: Circe turned King Picus into a woodpecker because he refused her love.
Phoenix: A phoenix is a bird that rises from the ashes of its deceased predecessor.

PRIMARY AUTHORS

Tacitus (55-cca.116 AD)

- born in an equestrian family in Northern Italy, became consul—thus he was a novus homo.
- Wrote The Annals in last years of his life—cca.115AD. The SB contains Book I of the Annals.
- Historian. Main points in Book I of Annals:
• The Annals contrast in several instances with the Res Gestae and Suetonius, and could present a more
objective opinion, without Augustus’ positive bias.
• The fact that he wrote of Augustus several decades after his death allowed him to take on a more
critical perspective, not only praising Augustus.
• Tacitus says that Augustus proclaimed himself consul, offered gratuities and peace and slowly united
in his own person the functions of the senate, the magistracy and the legislature. After the
proscription and the battle of Actium “there was no opposition” (I.2, p.55) The text presents a very
methodical process of accession to power.
• Tacitus affirms that “Augustus had left no room for the worship of heaven when he wished to be
himself adored in temples and in the image of godhead by flamens and by priests”
• Tacitus portrays the later years of the Augustan rule as the “an altered state, where no trace remained
of the unspoiled Roman character.”
• Nonetheless, he gives Augustus credit for the his efficient centralized administration and his building
program.
• He is said to have promoted his descendants through early titles. Livia drove Lucius and Gaius Caesar
(sons of Julia and Agrippa) to fight in armies, and all converged on her son Tiberius—Nero. Some
suspected of “the foul play” of Livia—his wife to promote Tiberius. Augustus was strongly influenced
by Livia.
• Tacitus emphasizes the “first crime of the principate”—the murder of Agrippa Postumus (youngest,
slightly retarded son of Julia and Agrippa).
• The consuls of Rome are pictured as being full of hypocrisy and not really sad about the death of
Augustus or happy about the accession of the prince.
 • About portrayal of women: Augusta—Livia wanted to have the title “Mother of the people” or an altar
of adoption, etc, but she was not granted such favors because Tiberius declared that “such
compliments for women must be kept within bounds”.
- Recognizing the narrative of Tacitus:
• not so positive portrayal Augustus’ rule, yet less grand and fluffy than Paterculus
• more objective analysis of Augustus’ deeds
• the text really makes the reader feel that the narrator is removed from the story, looks from a
different angle at Augustus’ career, written a few decades after his death.

Propertius (cca.50BC-cca.1AD)
- no trace of political or military involvement.
- Tullus, consul in 33BC, and later proconsul of Asia, is P’s friend to whom the first and last few poems of Book I
are dedicated.
- His poetry, although highly individual in feeling is not very autobiographic in content.
- Cynthia is his elegiac mistress, marking his stormy affair with her (in reality—Hostia).
Writings:
- Elegies. Grouped in 4 Books.
- High emphasis on feelings. Every other line is indented.
Elegies in SB:
Book I: (22 poems, dominated by figure of Cynthia, no single model but drawing widely on Hellenistic poetry,
emphasis on passionate intensity and turmoil)
1) I.6 to Tullus
- Tullus invites the lyric narrator to go on an exploration, but he stays with his mistress
- He describes the effect that his departure would have on his mistress—“so that Cynthis can hurl abuse at my
departing ship”. He mentions her name.
- This scene suggests the scene of Dido’s despair upon the departure of Aeneas.
- He decides to stay and “yield up [his] life to utter worthlessness,” illustrating supremacy of love and it power
over man, restraining them from arms and exploration.
2) I.21 on Gallus, and I.22 the poet’s birthplace (Epilogue)
- these two poems are more direct that any of P’s other work. Both are short—10 lines each.
- He is bitter over the losses to his family and Umbrian patria inflicted by the siege of Perugia.
- In I.21 he addresses Gallus and mentions his name 2 times.
- I.22 is a complaint to Tullus about the suffering of the people of Perugia. Mentions words: Perugia, Tuscan,
Umbria.
Book II: (love poems tend to be longer and more wide-ranging, Cynthis starts to become a more stereotypical
figure)
II.15 A glorious night
- love poem, exulting the carnal pleasures of love.
- Evokes the eyes that “have always been love’s guides”
- Wants to have only love forever, and bring in the idea that love makes man immortal and brings him to the
level of god.
- He also says that love mean rejection of war—if all loved no one would fight in Actium.
Book III:
III.3
- P’s reflections on his poetic calling become more prominent, occupying the first 5 poems of the book. “Poetic
Initiation” theme.
- He envisions Apollo addressing him and asking “who said / that you should take a stab at epic songs? […]”
and thus affirming that P’s calling is elegy.
- He mentions Venus, Horace.
- He also talks about the opposition between war and writing: “don’t stain the Muses’ grove with warrior’s
blood”
Book IV: (The general theme of the book is Roman and aethiological tracing beginnings of cults, festival—but this is
not obvious in the poem in the SB; Book IV exhibits P’s new interest in character portrayal, consists largely of
monologues)
IV.3
- monologue of Artheusa and her unhappiness in marriage.

Livy
• Titus Livius
• Dates: 64 (less probably 59) B.C.-12 (or 17) A.D.
• Native City: Padua, Italy
• Spent entire life writingno mention of military service or politics
• Did not mix in Roman literary and cultural circles
 • Strong ties to Padua, not Rome. Emphasized the found of Padua by Anteonor as Vergil emphasized Aeneas’
founding of Rome
• Asinuis Pollio called Livy provincial (Pavinitas), but this is not necessarily the case.
• Introduced Augustus as a literary character in his chronicle of the Augustan Age
• Most of Livy’s work were dedicated to history; not of all his works were well-polished
• Livy possibly taught rhetoric, but he was definitely not a scholar in this field
• No evidence of close ties between Augustus and Livy like other writers of the time
• Might have encouraged the emperor Claudius to write history through a one-time encounter
• Ab urbe condita “From the Founding of the City”
o History of Roman people from the very beginning of the city until 9 B.C.
o 142 Books
 Only 1-10 and 21-45 remain
 We know about the rest because they are quoted by other Latin authors
o Livy relied heavily other literary sources for historical context so that he could take an amalgamation
of annals and put them together in a text that would last throughout antiquity
o Books are proportioned differently
 As Ab urbe condita progressed, Livy progressed as well
o The books were written in blocks of five and ten to mark major phases of the historical narrative
(pentad-decade structure)

I. Augustus – Princeps of Rome

Res Gestae: written by Augustus to show public his accomplishments; he gives his story and view of history in this
work, is self-promotional; placed on 2 bronze tablets outside his mausoleum.
• Focuses on his status as the Father of Rome, patron of the city: “Pater Patriae.”
• Emphasizes when he turned down honors—and that he was given all the power he used. “ I transferred the state
from my own power…”
• Careful to leave out the negative aspects of his life—e.g. Julia’s adultery
• Like a job resume
• Associated himself with Caesar—now wants to pave the way for his successor, Tiberius
• Showed clementia to those he conquered
• Creating a legacy and immortalizing not only himself but his style of leadership
• After his death he was Deified

From section: Breakdown of Res Gestae by passages:

I-II = entrance to public life and honors

III-V = wars, conquests

V-VI = Honors declined

VII = titles/positions held (honors accepted)

VII- VIII = reforms

VIII-XIII = religious honors

XIV = sons Gaius and Lucius Caesar

XV-XVIII = patronage of Rome/Generosity

XIX- XXI = building projects

XXII-XXIII = games, public shows

XXIV-XXXIII = foreign exploits, extension of empires

XXXIV-XXXV = Augustus’s Honors

Passage 34 = most significant. He transferred the state from his own power to the control of the Roman Senate
and people, and for this service, was named “Augustus” by decree of the senate.

Also note the “Ring Composition”

• Beginning = “At the age of 19”—first titles

• Ending = “At the age of 76” –last titles

First he conquered Rome (civil land), then foreign land

II. Callimachus– poet

Champion of “refined and learned” poetry.

Only one remaining fragment – urges poets to take the path less traveled by.

[NOTE: “New Poets” – poetry now written by respectable Romans. Catullus, Calvus, Cinna, Asinius Pollio.
next generation – supported by patrons. Valuing of private over public. Problem of maintaining poetic integrity while
expressing politically acceptable views (genre to create distance, public events from private perspective, polite
refusal to treat political events, differing viewpoints when they are treated). Virgil, Horace, Cornelias Gallus.]

III. Suetonius-biographer

The Lives of the Caesars (115-120 AD)

Assassination of Julius Caesar

Suetonius held a career in the imperial court, and is famous for writing the biographies of the Caears—from Julius
Caesar, to Augustus, to the ensuing emperors through Domitian. Suetonius’ lives, especially those of the first
Caesars, contain numerous quotations frp, imperial letters and other documents; while some of these documents,
such as the letters of Augustus, had probably already been published, Suetonius probably gained access to other
documents through his court position.

The Life of Julius Caesar = Straightforward writing that is very anti-Caesar: “one could conclude that he
abused his power and was rightly killed,” Suetonius goes on to list all of the obnoxious stuff he did,
his contempt for the Senate, and then describes the development of disapproval among the masses,
and the formulation and execution of the conspiracy to kill him.

The Life of Augustus = Here, Suetonius was writing biography, not history. In this respect the best
contrast is with his contemporary Tacitus. History fo rthe Romans implied high literary ambition, a strong moral
purpose and outlook, and a focus on the important affairs of the state, all of which are present in Tacitus’ Annals.
Biography—especially as practiced by Suetonius—is considerably more modest in its aims and methods. S’s style is
generally plain and matter-of-fact, he seems equally ready to relate episodes that present his subjects in a good or
bad light, and he often shows less interest in public themes than in personal sidelights or eccentricities. As a
biographer, his all-inclusiveness and lack of a strong personal point of view allow him to preserve details
that a more rigorous or high-minded writer would have filtered out—e.g. Augustus’ eating habits or his
subjects’ alleged sexual mores.
Summarizes Augustus’ life and accomplishments:
-- Lost his father at age 4, adopted by Caesar, campaigned with Caesar. Caesar is assassinated—makes Augustus his
heir via written will. Augustus forms second triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus. Avenges Caesar’s murder at the
Battle of Phillippi, then Capture of Perusia, then Sicilian war and defeat of Pompey, then Battle of Actium and defeat of
Antony and Egpytian threat. Mention of changes and innovations in the army. Mention of Augustus’ policy of
“More Haste, Less Speed!”
Held consulship, triumvir, received the triubunican power for life, almost restored the republic completely, built many
public works, divided the city into regions and wards, fire fighters and canal and road improvements, assumed the
office of pontifex maximus after the death of Lepidus, restored the former calendar system, increased the number of
priests, revived some of the ancient rites, implemented a new police system, extended the term of the courts by thirty
days, practiced clementia in his administration of justice, revised and enacted new laws on adultery and chastity, and
procreation, etc, restored the senate from 1,000 men to its former, smaller size, insisted on proper dress, opened up
new positions to broaden public participation in the administration of the senate, increased the property qualifications
for senators, put on public shows and games, relieved debt of provinces by providing foreign aid, proposed political
intermarriages to create alliances among kings, insisted on freedom of speech, stubbornly refused to accept the
honors bestowed upon him, and behaved as a man of the people, Father of the Country. He also rehearsed his
speeches, was a bad speller, never fluent in Greek, was scared of lightening, superstitious about his dreams, and
other omens, ironically built his own tomb (the Mausoleum) upon which his Res Gestae was placed on two bronze
tablets.

This was the only surviving full-length treatment of Augustus’ life.

From Lecture: Suetonius quotes sentiments that Augustus was thinking beyond his lifetime, and trying to
lay the foundations of a system that would survive him.

Sallust
-wrote on the conspiracy of Cataline (c. 43-42 BC)
-also wrote on Sempronia
-Sallust makes a character sketch of Sempronia who is the opposite of what a Roman woman should be
-she dances, plays the lyre and is co-conspirator of Cataline
-wrote on the decline of the Republic
-Rome’s own success has brought its decline
-desire for more wealth has consumed it

Lucan:
-Lucan was a Roman who lived during the reign of the emperor Nero (39-65 AD). Because he hated his own emperor
(Nero), his writing demonstrates a strong negative bias toward all emperor-type people, including the Caesars. He
was very pro-Republic and very anti-Caesar.
-He wrote a prose history called The Civil War. This is about the war between Julius Caesar and Pompey, NOT the
war between Octavian and Antony.
-His style is very bombastic, full of metaphors that compare historical situations to situations in nature and the
cosmos (e.g., comparing the fall of the Roman republic to the eventual apocalypse, comparing Pompey to a withered
oak tree, comparing Julius Caesar to a lightning-bolt). He also makes a lot of historical analogies, comparing the
Caesar-Pompey rivalry to the Remus-Romulus rivalry and comparing the role of Julius Caesar’s daughter to the role of
the Sabine women.
-He blames the Caesar-Pompey war on four things:
-Rome’s foreign conquests made the Romans so wealthy that they lost their morals. (This echoes a theme in
Sallust’s writing.)
-The “First Triumvirate” was unstable because Caesar and Pompey were both too ambitious to be willing to
share power with other people.
-the death of Crassus, who had served as a buffer between Caesar and Pompey
-the death of Julius Caesar’s daughter who had also been Pompey’s wife

Vitruvius:
-a Roman who wrote On Architecture, a book dedicated to Augustus, in 29-27 BC (i.e., during Augustus’s principate)
-a big suck-up: In the dedication, he repeatedly expresses his devotion to Augustus and to the memory of Julius
Caesar
-He praises the fact that Augustus is not only concerned with conquering new provinces, but is also concerned with
constructing new “public and private buildings, in keeping with the magnitude of your res gestae.” “You were
concerned…that through your efforts…the grandeur of the empire might be expressed in the dignity of its public
buildings.”
Ovid

Lived:43 BC – 17 AD. So right in the time of Augustus. 3rd generation of poets. Exiled at one point. Aware of Virgil as
his major predecessor.
Important Works we looked at:
-Amores- c. 25-15 BC- elegiac couplets. Formal symmetry. Letters to Corinna treat love playfully.
-Ars Amatoria-c. 2 BC or 2 AD. Mock didactic poem on art of seduction. 2 books to men and a later 3rd to women. All
about how to find a woman/man and keep her/him. Includes the passage about Gaius Caesar written before his
untimely death. Pretty easily recognizable by the advising nature and sheer hilarity of some of the advice he gives
(like telling men that no means yes etc.)
-Metmorphoses- 2-8 AD. Ovid’s masterpiece. History of the world in terms of Greek and Roman mythology. In dactylic
hexameter. Unifying theme is metamorphoses, no unifying plots or characters. Next theme is love; this is change
from the usual theme of epics, war.
The transformations make apparent that whish was already there- be the transformation physical or mental, good or
bad. The poem itself changes. Ovid’s first poems were light, but now epic. Light to dark. Elaborate to abbreviated. Etc.
Metamorphoses are different, sometimes more than one per story. Ex. Daphne turns into a laurel tree while Apollo
changes from a lustful stalker to emotional.
A lot of stories about gods raping women.
Aetiology (origin) stories- laurel crown, spiders etc.
A few other points- sympathy for victims of violence, rape never shown without seeing victim’s point of view (opposite
of Ars), promotion of romantic love, redefinition of pietas- Virgil promotes male-centric vertical world- son respects
father, man respects god. Ovid- promotes respect between men and women especially marital fidelity.
Ironic that Augustus wanted to promote marital fidelity, yet it was Ovid, the poet he exiled, who did that the best.
Other themes to look for-
-Don’t mess with the god
-the gods are capricious and cruel to man at times
-deference to gods- ex. Arachne won’t defer to Minerva but Ovid does
-self-references- ex. Mercury bores Argus to death with a story about gods raping women.
Recognizing- If there is a passage that involves a mythical transformation, it’s probably from the Metamorphoses.
Also worthy to note is Epilogue at the end of book 15 where Ovid presents the work as a whole as his masterpiece.
Ovid hopes for immortality through the epic. Compare this to the opening of the Amores in which he looks towards an
epic.

Nicolas of Damascus
--Excerpts from Life of Augustus

This passage is separated into paragraphs and each of them expresses a different thought or event from the life of
Augustus. At the beginning he calls Augustus “Caesar”, then he switches to “Young Caesar,” then to “Octavius.” The
passage focuses a lot on what is happening in Roman history with Caesar as leader, and what “Young Caesar” is
currently doing at each period in time. It focuses a lot on Augustus’s developing relationship with Caesar while he is
in power, and then after Caesar’s assassination, it describes Augustus’s intense emotions when he reads Caesar’s will
and finds out that he has been declared as his son. It also discusses the dilemma with Augustus and his mother on
whether or not he should adopt the name Caesar – she is very worried about him and concerned with the name will
bring, but they reach an agreement in the end that he will take it. The passage ends on a very positive note, saying
that he decided to take Caesar’s name and accept Caesar as his adopted father, and then the author comments that it
was a very good decision for both Augustus and for Rome.

Name : Dio Cassius

Dates : ca. 164 AD

Background: Greek speaking native of Bithynia (modern day Turkey) ; from political
Family; held the consulship

Works: History of Rome

Wrote about : The battle of Actium (the excerpt that was assigned to us)

Distinguishing Features:
• refers to Augustus as “Caesar” in the text
• Speaks in action terms in describing the battle and the moves each side made
• Describes the fire set to Anthony’s ships
• Cleopatra is shown as superstitious (omens) but not overly vilified
• Pro Caesar, but not overly so
Seneca the Younger (55-56 AD)
-writes on the the clemency of Augustus when addressing Nero
-writes on the disgrace of Julia (Augustus' daughter)
-Julia was exiled by Augustus
-Seneca emphasizes Augustus' pain
-he also writes on Augustus in heaven
-Augustus is a leader in Heaven just as he was on earth
-he wisely thinks about issues and helps the gods address them

Seneca the Elder (30 AD)

-Seneca gives two examples of declamations
-controversia-where the stugents were given the facts of a legal dispute and
had to present a speech arguing for one side or the other
-suasoria-where the students had to offer advise to a famous person (from
mythology or history)

Virgil (Full name Publius Virgil Maro)

*Lived 70 BC-19BC
*Work: The Aeneid
*Style of work: Poem, Epic-hexameter meter (6 metrical feet)
*Wrote about war, the journeys of Aeneas—foundation story for Rome
*Importance of author: HUGE. First major Roman epic, influenced contemporary authors like Ovid greatly. Elegies
were (sort of) a response to and rejection of the war theme in The Aeneid. He ordered his work to be burned when he
died and Augustus himself refused and had it published.
*How to identify: It actually isn’t that hard. Hexameter is fairly distinctive, and marks it as a poem immediately. More
than that, if you remember that every line in Hexameter is the same length, you can eliminate most of the authors
we’ve read in the course. Furthermore, most passages we read from the book will have at least one of the major
characters, so if you study the major characters in this study guide, you should be okay. Finally, since this is an epic,
look for the theme of war. Also look for references to the gods as actually characters as opposed to nebulous entities.
Unlike in Ovid, the gods in Virgil tend to be the female ones, and tend to be a bit more serious (they are not
gallivanting about turning women into cows). Instead, they are vengeful and stay a bit removed from humans.
Another theme of the Aeneid is fate, so look for references to that.
To recap, look for 1) meter 2) characters 3) war 4) gods

Horace
Full Name: Quintus Horatius Flaccus
Life: 65BC (December) – 8BC (November 27)
History:
- father was a freed slave, but able to send his son to Rome and Athens for school
- fought in Battle of Philippi on losing side w/ Brutus and Cassius
- went to Brundisium (38-37BC) w/ Maecenas to negotiate peace treaty b/w Antony and Octavian; describes the
trip in Satires 1.5
- Maecenas became his patron ca. 39-38BC through Virgil; Maecenas gives him an estate in the Sabine
countryside (described in Satires 2.6)

Details from Lecture:

- cursus honorum = personal, informal (Epodes, Satires) to lyric poetry (Odes)
- odes = collection of lyric poems in Greek tradition of Sappho,, Alcaeus, and Pindar; first and only Roman poet
to produce a whole body of poetry in this form
- first three books of odes published in 23BC; fourth book in 13BC, said to be directly instigated by Augustus
- odes leans more to private life (friendship, love, poetry, reflections on mortality)
o his love poetry ironic, detached, amused, rather than impassioned
- augustus mentioned once in Odes 1-3 (1.2); referred to as Rome’s saviour after the trauma of civil war
- after the Odes, he wrote his Epistles (verse letter to a friend discussing ethics or literary theory)
- Horace was responsible for the phrase “carpe diem”

His Works (in order):

Satires
- two books, I finished ca. 35BC, II finished ca. 30BC
- written in deliberately informal hexameter
- personal poems satirizing moral and literary foibles of contemporary society
Epodes
- one books; composed ca. 40-31BC
- written in iambic and dactylic meter; personal, erotic, and political subjects (1 and 9 addressed to Maecenas,
concerning Battle of Actium)
Odes I-III
- composed ca. 30-23BC; written in variety of meters use in ‘classical’ greek poetry
- mostly lyric poetry
Epistles I
- composed ca. 23-20BC; hexameter; philosophical letters to friends
Carmen Saeculare
- compose for Ludi Saeculares of 17BC; Sapphic ode in form of prayer to Diana and Apollo
Epistles II
- three long hexameter poems about literature and poetry
Odes IV
- completed ca. 13BC; same metrical forms as the first three

Julius Caesar
- wrote The Civil War on the civil war (45-44 BC)
- speaks of himself in the third person so it might make him hard to identify him; he refers to himself as
either “he” or “Caesar”
- describes the battle of Pharsalus, during which his forces defeated “Republican: armies under Pompey
- emphasizes valor of Julius Caesar and his military skill
- emphasizes the value he placed on the lives of his soldiers
Velleius Paterculus
- wrote History of Rome
- Origin of Octavius
- Battle of Actium
- Ridiculously biased in favor of Augustus
- Very reproachful of Julia the Elder

L Mestrius Plutarchus
Born before 50 AD, died after 120 AD
(therefore, after Augustus)
Lived in Greece, NOT Rome

Plutarch wrote the "Lives", a collection of works about great men. The
work we read was the "Life of Antony".

The way to identify this is simply that it is the ONLY one of the works
about Actium we have that is from Antony's point of view. When Antony
flees, we learn nothing more about the battle-we do learn about his
relationship with Cleopatra though. So look for a historical account that
seems to focus on Antony and his perception of the battle. This does not
mean it is pro-Antony, merely that it is from his perspective. In fact, it
is not particularly pro-Antony, so don't be fooled.

Plutarch, since he did not live during Augustus' life, is not important
in the sense of him influencing Augustus. However, he has been
instrumental in shaping the modern perception of Augustus, and
Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra' was based on his work.