Horace and Ovid: Lives and Major Works of Roman Poets
Horace: Roman Lyric Poet
Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) was born in Venusia, southern Italy, in 65 BC. He was the son of a freedman (an emancipated slave). He received his education first in Rome and later in Athens, where he studied Greek literature and philosophy. He fought on the side of Brutus and Cassius (the assassins of Julius Caesar) against Octavian (later Augustus) at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. After Augustus’ victory, Horace returned to Rome and was granted amnesty.
Initially facing poverty, he worked as a clerk. His literary talents led to his introduction by Virgil to Maecenas, a wealthy patron of the arts and advisor to Augustus. Maecenas provided Horace with financial support, including a Sabine farm, allowing him to dedicate his life to poetry. Maecenas became a lifelong friend and protector.
Horace is arguably Rome’s greatest lyric poet, known for the personal reflections and deep feelings expressed in his work. Inspired by Greek lyric poets like Sappho and Alcaeus of Lesbos, he skillfully adapted their meters into Latin verse.
Major Works of Horace
Horace collected his compositions into four main works:
- The Satires (Sermones): Eighteen poems in two books. These works possess a generally gentle and conversational tone, offering critical and skeptical observations on Roman society. The satire is more characterized by urbane mockery than aggressive attacks.
- The Epodes: Seventeen poems representing a transition between his earlier satirical style and his later lyric poetry. This collection includes both sharp invectives and poems closer to the style of the Odes, such as the famous Beatus ille (“Happy the man…”).
- The Odes (Carmina): Comprising 103 poems arranged in four books, this is widely considered the pinnacle of Horace’s poetic achievement. He masterfully employed Greek lyric meters, particularly those of Sappho, Alcaeus, and Anacreon. The themes are diverse, including love, friendship, wine, patriotism (the “Roman Odes”), philosophy (especially Epicureanism), and the simple life.
- The Epistles: Two books containing a total of 23 poems written in the form of letters addressed to friends and acquaintances. The first book primarily deals with philosophical and ethical themes. The second book focuses on literary criticism, including the famous Ars Poetica (Art of Poetry), which offers advice on writing.
Ovid: Master of Elegiac and Epic Poetry
Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) lived during the reign of Emperor Augustus. He belonged to the literary circle of Messalla Corvinus, a group somewhat independent of Augustus’ direct political influence, where he associated with fellow elegiac poets like Tibullus and Propertius. Born in Sulmona, Italy, in 43 BC to a prosperous equestrian family, Ovid went to Rome to complete his education, training in rhetoric. He held minor public offices before dedicating himself entirely to poetry.
Ovid quickly achieved great success and popularity. However, in 8 AD, Augustus banished him to Tomis (modern Constanța, Romania) on the Black Sea. The precise reasons remain unclear, though Ovid himself cited “a poem and a mistake” (carmen et error) – likely referring to his potentially scandalous Ars Amatoria and possibly involvement in a court intrigue. Despite pleas, Ovid was never pardoned by the Emperor and died in exile around 17 or 18 AD.
Major Works of Ovid
Ovid’s prolific career covered various genres:
- The Amores (Loves): An early collection of witty and sophisticated love elegies, ostensibly centered around a fictional mistress named Corinna.
- The Heroides (Heroines): A collection of letters written from the perspective of famous mythological heroines (like Penelope, Dido, Ariadne) to their absent husbands or lovers. These poems showcase Ovid’s skill in portraying female psychology and emotion.
- The Ars Amatoria (Art of Love): A didactic poem in three books offering instruction on the arts of seduction and maintaining relationships. The first two books advise men, while the third advises women. Its risqué subject matter likely contributed to his exile.
- Other Elegiac Works: Included the Medicamina Faciei Femineae (Cosmetics for the Female Face) and the Remedia Amoris (Remedies for Love).
- The Metamorphoses (Transformations): Ovid’s magnum opus, an epic poem in 15 books. It weaves together over 250 myths from Greek and Roman tradition, linked by the common theme of transformation. The narrative spans chronologically from the creation of the world out of chaos to the deification of Julius Caesar, presented as a final transformation. It includes famous myths like Apollo and Daphne, Echo and Narcissus, Pyramus and Thisbe, and the Flood featuring Deucalion and Pyrrha.
- The Fasti (Festivals): An ambitious but unfinished poem in elegiac couplets detailing the Roman calendar, explaining the origins of Roman holidays, rituals, and associated myths for each month. Only the first six months (January to June) were completed before Ovid’s exile.
- Exile Poetry (Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto): Collections of poems written from exile, lamenting his fate and pleading for recall.