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Intro to Roman Love ElegyElegy
Professor Jennifer Rea
Office Hours: W 1-4 in Dauer 142 and gladly by appointment
About the Professor
Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
MA from Indiana University
PhD in 1999 from Wisconsin
Areas of specialty: Augustan Age and Roman material culture
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
I am editing my book, Legendary Rome, which will be published by Duckworth in 2007.
What is Elegy?
Modern term usually means a poem of mourning for the dead
In the ancient world the poem could also be about love or praise
Greek influence (especially Callimachus) has poems about death or an encomium (praise)
Roman Love Elegy
The Romans added love to the list of elegy topics and the world has never been the same since . . .
Erotic love and courtesans abound in this world
Book you are about to read is called the Monobiblios
Quis Est Propertius?
Very little is known about the poet and his life
Sextus Propertius
Born around 57 BC, dead by 2 AD.
Quis est Cynthia?
Propertius’ lover
Real name was Hostia
She was probably a meretrix
Affair most likely did not last more than 5 years
Rome in Propertius’s time
The Palatine hill housed the legendary foundations of the city
Rome in Propertius’s time, II
The Capitoline hill was the center of Roman religious and political space
Course Objectives
To discuss some of the common themes of Latin Love Poetry and Elegy
To improve your Latin skills
To have interesting class discussions about the Roman conceptions of love, sex and gender
Some context for Propertius 1.1
First four lines are very similar to an epigram of the Greek author Meleager (acknowledge your predecessor)
Original Greek poem was to a young man
Cynthia is prima but . . . . Milanion and Atalanta girl acts like boy, gets treated
like one Love is treated as though it is a
near-fatal disease Who is the poet’s anger aimed
at?
The Question No One Asks When Reading Latin
What determines how good you can be at something? Is it talent or practice or really, really expensive coaching?
Pre-Reading Guide, Poem 1
What words modify me in 1.1-2?
What case is fastus in 1.3? What other word does it agree with?
Who is the subject of docuit in 1.5?
What case is anno in 1.6 and why?
What is fugiendo in 1.8? How would you translate it?
What does amens (1.11) mean?
Who does saucius (1.14) modify?
What construction follows facite (1.22)?
Pre-Reading Guide Con’t
What case is vobis and why (1.23)?
What word does non go with (1.26)?
What verb is ira the subject of and how do you translate quae (1.28)?
What word does meum modify (1.30)?
Does the verb annuit (1.31) look familiar to you? It should, as most of you see it every day.
What form is pares (1.32)?
For class next Wednesday
You are responsible for Propertius 1.1 and Propertius 1.2
The assignment is answering ALL of the questions on the pre-reading guide and translating both poems
If you have trouble translating a passage, you must come back to class knowing the vocabulary for the poem and be able to explain why you are having difficulties.
