Quintus Horatius Flaccus, known in English as Horace, was born on 8 December 65 BC at Venusia, a Roman colony near the borderlands of Apulia and Lucania in southern Italy, and died at Rome on 27 November 8 BC. He lived through one of the most violent transformations in Roman history: the final collapse of the Republic, the civil wars that followed Julius Caesar’s assassination, and the consolidation of Augustus’ new…
“It is not enough for poems to be beautiful; they must be moving and lead the listener's mind wherever they wish.”
Neighbourhood:
Ancient & Classical Poets, Classical & Ancient Poets, Death & Mortality, Love Poets, Nature Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Sensuality
Gaius Valerius Catullus, born about 84 BC and probably dead by about 54 BC, occupies a singular place in Latin literature: he is at once one of antiquity’s most polished craftsmen and one of its most startlingly intimate voices. His surviving poems move from affectionate invitations and erotic delight to devastating grief, learned mythological narrative, social comedy, and abusive satire so ferocious that it can unse…
Neighbourhood:
Ancient & Classical Poets, Classical & Ancient Poets, Death & Mortality, LGBTQ+ Poets, Love Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Tenderness, Sensuality