In the verdant heart of ancient Latium, where rolling hills cradled modest estates and the echoes of civil strife still lingered in the air, Albius Tibullus entered the world around 55 BCE. He would depart it far too soon, in 19 BCE, leaving behind a slender but radiant corpus of elegiac poetry that has captivated readers for over two millennia. Tibullus was no bombastic chronicler of empire or grand epic hero; inste…
“Glory is a shadow that follows virtue, now preceding it, now following behind, but always accompanying it.”
Neighbourhood:
Ancient & Classical Poets, Classical & Ancient Poets, Death & Mortality, Love Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Longing, Peace
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
