Myrtale appears in Horace's poetry as a woman whose name derives from myrtle, Venus's sacred plant, suggesting erotic associations; she is described as wilder than the stormy Adriatic. The character represents untamed passion and the overwhelming power of desire, her presence acknowledging love's dangerous and uncontrollable aspects. Myrtale enriches lyric poetry's treatment of eros by embodying its turbulent and destructive potential, contrasting with gentler beloved figures and expanding the emotional range of amatory verse.

Myrtale appears in Horace's Odes as a woman compared to wild natural forces, more tempestuous than the Adriatic Sea. This association links feminine passion with elemental power. Poets invoke Myrtale when depicting dangerous or overwhelming desire, passion's destructive potential, and women as embodiments of natural forces. The character demonstrates classical poetry's tendency to associate women with nature, particularly its dangerous or uncontrollable aspects, using female figures to represent passion's power to overwhelm rationality and order.