Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. 84 BC – ca. 54 BC) was a Latin poet Latin literature, the body of written works in the Latin language, remains an enduring legacy of the culture of ancient Rome. The Romans produced many works of poetry, comedy, tragedy, satire, history, and rhetoric, drawing on Italic traditions and particularly on the literary culture of Greece, which was regarded by the Romans themselves as of the Republican period The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterised by a republican form of government. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, c. 509 BC, and lasted 482 years until its subversion, through a series of civil wars, into the Principate form of government and the Imperial period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.

Contents

Biography

Catullus came from a leading equestrian The Roman equestrian order constituted the lower of the two aristocratic classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the patricians (patricii), an hereditary caste that monopolised political power during the regal era (to 501 BC) and during the early Republic (to 338 BC). A member of the order was known as an eques (plural: equites). Equites in Latin family of Verona in Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul was the Roman name for a geographical area (later a province of the Roman Republic), in the territory of modern-day northern Italy (including Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto), inhabited by the Celts, and according to St. Jerome Saint Jerome (formerly Saint Hierom) (Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Greek: Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος) was an Illyrian Christian priest and apologist. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia (and was overthrown by the Goths). He is best known for he was born in the town. The family was prominent enough for his father to entertain Caesar Gaius Julius Cæsar/Caesar was a Roman military and political leader. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire, then proconsul A promagistrate is a person who acts in and with the authority and capacity of a magistrate, but without holding a magisterial office. A legal innovation of the Roman Republic, the promagistracy was invented in order to provide Rome with governors of overseas territories instead of having to elect more magistrates each year. Promagistrates were of both Gallic Gaul is a historical name used in the context of Ancient Rome in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine provinces In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy (circa 296), largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy. The word province in modern English has its origins in the term used by the Romans.[1] In one of his poems Catullus describes his happy return to the family villa at Sirmio on Lake Garda Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the provinces of Verona (to the southeast), Brescia (southwest), and Trento (north). Being easily accessible from the near Verona. The poet also owned a villa near the fashionable resort of Tibur (modern Tivoli Tivoli, the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km from Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river, where it issues from the Sabine hills. There are spectacular views out over the Roman Campagna);[1] his complaints about his poverty must be taken with a pinch of salt.

The poet appears to have spent most of his years as a young adult in Rome Rome (English pronunciation: /ˈroʊm/; Italian: Roma listen , pronounced [ˈroːma]; Latin: Rōma) is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality (central area), with over 2.7 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi). While the population of the urban area was estimated by Eurostat to have been 3.46. His friends there included the poets Licinius Calvus, and Helvius Cinna, Quintus Hortensius (son of the orator and rival of Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists) and the biographer Cornelius Nepos Cornelius Nepos (c. 100-24 BC) was a Roman biographer. He was born at Hostilia, a village in Cisalpine Gaul not far from Verona. His Gallic origin is attested by Ausonius, and Pliny the Elder calls him Padi accola ('a dweller on the River Po, Natural History III.22). He was a friend of Catullus, who dedicates his poems to him (I.3), Cicero and, to whom Catullus dedicated the extant libellus which is the basis of his fame[1]. He appears to have been acquainted with the poet Marcus Furius Bibaculus. A number of prominent contemporaries appear in his poetry, including Cicero, Caesar and Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey /ˈpɒmpi/ or Pompey the Great (September 29, 106 BC – September 29, 48 BC), was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He came from a wealthy Italian provincial background, and established himself in the ranks of Roman nobility by successful leadership in several campaigns. Sulla. According to an anecdote preserved by Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was an equestrian and a historian during the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar until Domitian, entitled De Vita Caesarum. Other works by Suetonius concern the daily life of Rome, politics, oratory,, Caesar did not deny that Catullus's lampoons left an indelible stain on his reputation, but when Catullus apologized, he invited the poet for dinner the very same day.[2]

It was probably in Rome that Catullus fell deeply in love with the "Lesbia She was a poet in her own right, included with Catullus in a list of famous poets whose girlfriends "often" helped them write their verses. The name Lesbia was chosen for several reasons, including its metrical match with her real name. The 2nd century AD orator Apuleius of Madaura gave a list of four such identities in court, to" of his poems, who is usually identified with Clodia Metelli Clodia, (born Claudia Pulchra Prima or Maior or also Quadrantaria c. 95 BC or c. 94 BC[citation needed] and often referred to in scholarship as Clodia Metelli , was the third daughter of the patrician Appius Claudius Pulcher and Caecilia Metella Balearica, a sophisticated woman from the aristocratic house of patrician Claudii Pulchri and sister of the infamous Publius Clodius Pulcher Publius Clodius Pulcher , was a Roman politician known for his popularist tactics. He passed several significant laws (the Leges Clodiae) but is chiefly remembered for his feuds with Titus Annius Milo and Marcus Tullius Cicero and for his introduction of the grain dole. In his poems Catullus describes several stages of their relationship: initial euphoria, doubts, separation, and his wrenching feelings of loss. Many questions must remain unanswered - most importantly, it is not clear why the couple split up - but Catullus' poems about the relationship display striking depth and psychological insight. One such poem with insight to the reasons of his parting with "Lesbia She was a poet in her own right, included with Catullus in a list of famous poets whose girlfriends "often" helped them write their verses. The name Lesbia was chosen for several reasons, including its metrical match with her real name. The 2nd century AD orator Apuleius of Madaura gave a list of four such identities in court, to" is poem 11, which is addressed to his companions Furius and Aurelius and requests them simply to pass a farewell insult to Lesbia.[3]

Bithynia

He spent the provincial command year summer 57 to summer 56 BC in Bithynia Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine on the staff of the commander C. Memmius. While in the East, he traveled to the Troad Troas or The Troad is the historical name of the Biga peninsula in the northwestern part of Anatolia,Turkey. This region now is part of the Çanakkale province of Turkey. Bounded by the Dardanelles to the northwest, by the Aegean Sea to the west and separated from the rest of Anatolia by the massif that forms Mount Ida, the Troad is drained by two to perform rites at his brother's tomb, an event recorded in a moving poem.[1]

There survives no ancient biography of Catullus: his life has to be pieced together from scattered references to him in other ancient authors and from his poems. Thus it is uncertain when he was born and when he died. St. Jerome says that he died in his 30th year, and was born in 87 BC. But the poems include references to events of 55 and 54 BC. Since the Roman consular fasti make it somewhat easy to confuse 87 – 57 BC with 84 – 54 BC, many scholars accept the dates 84 BC – 54 BC,[1] supposing that his latest poems and the publication of his libellus coincided with the year of his death, a most unlikely proposition.[why?]

Catullus' poems were widely appreciated by other poets, but Cicero despised them for their supposed amorality. Catullus was never considered one of the canonical school authors. Nevertheless, he greatly influenced poets such as Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria. He is also well known for the Metamorphoses, a mythological hexameter poem, the Fasti, about the Roman calendar, and the Tristia and Epistulae ex, Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus, and Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 BCE – September 21, 19 BCE) was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works—the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the Aeneid—although several minor poems are also attributed to him. After his rediscovery in the late Middle Ages The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in, Catullus again found admirers. His explicit writing style has shocked many readers, both ancient and modern.

Poetry

Main article: Poetry of Catullus
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of The Poetry of Gaius Valerius Catullus

Sources and organization

Catullus' poems have been preserved in an anthology An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts. In genre fiction anthology is used to categorize collections of shorter works such as short stories and short novels, usually collected into a single volume for publication of 116 carmina (three of which are now considered spurious — 18, 19 and 20 — although the numbering has been retained), which can be divided into three formal parts: sixty short poems in varying metres, called polymetra, eight longer poems, and forty-eight epigrams An epigram is a brief, clever, and usually memorable statement. Derived from the Greek: ἐπίγραμμα epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on – inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia.

There is no scholarly consensus on whether or not Catullus himself arranged the order of the poems. The longer poems differ from the polymetra and the epigrams not only in length but also in their subjects: There are seven hymns A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek ὕμνος , "a song of praise". Collections of hymns are known as hymnals or hymnbooks and one mini-epic An epic (from the Ancient Greek adjective ἐπικός , from ἔπος (epos) "word, story, poem") is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that, or epillion, the most highly-prized form for the "new poets".

The polymetra and the epigrams can be divided into four major thematic A theme is the main idea of an essay, paragraph, or a book. The idea about life is revealed in a work of literature. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and may be implied rather than stated explicitly. Along with plot, character, setting, and style, theme is considered one of groups (ignoring a rather large number of poems eluding such categorization):

All these poems describe the lifestyle of Catullus and his friends, who, despite Catullus' temporary political post in Bithynia, lived their lives withdrawn from politics Politics , is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in other group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power" and refers. They were interested mainly in poetry Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning. Poetry may be written independently, as discrete poems, or may occur in conjunction with other arts, as in poetic drama, hymns, lyrics, or prose poetry. It is published in dedicated magazines ( and love Love is the emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. In religious context, love is not just a virtue, but the basis for all being , and the foundation for all divine law (Golden Rule). Above all other qualities, Catullus seems to have sought venustas, or charm, in his acquaintances, a theme which he explores in a number of his poems. The ancient Roman concept of virtus (i.e. of virtue Virtue is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality deemed to be morally excellent and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being that had to be proved by a political or military career), which Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists suggested as the solution to the societal problems of the late Republic The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterised by a republican form of government. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, c. 509 BC, and lasted 482 years until its subversion, through a series of civil wars, into the Principate form of government and the Imperial period, meant little to them.

But it is not the traditional notions Catullus rejects, merely their monopolized application to the vita activa of politics and war War is a behaviour pattern exhibited by many primate species including humans, and also found in many ant species. The primary feature of this behaviour pattern is a certain state of organized violent conflict that is engaged in between two or more separate social entities. Such a conflict is always an attempt at altering either the psychological. Indeed, he tries to reinvent these notions from a personal point of view and to introduce them into human relationships. For example, he applies the word fides, which traditionally meant faithfulness towards one's political allies, to his relationship with Lesbia and reinterprets it as unconditional faithfulness in love. So, despite seeming frivolity of his lifestyle, Catullus measured himself and his friends by quite ambitious standards.

Intellectual influences

Catullus' poetry Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning. Poetry may be written independently, as discrete poems, or may occur in conjunction with other arts, as in poetic drama, hymns, lyrics, or prose poetry. It is published in dedicated magazines ( was influenced by the innovative poetry of the Hellenistic Age, and especially by Callimachus Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar of the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of ancient Egyptian Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes. Although he was never made chief librarian, he was responsible for producing the catalogue of all the and the Alexandrian school, which had propagated a new style of poetry that deliberately turned away from the classical epic poetry An epic (from the Ancient Greek adjective ἐπικός , from ἔπος (epos) "word, story, poem") is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that in the tradition of Homer. Cicero called these local innovators neoteroi (νεώτεροι) or 'moderns' (in Latin poetae novi or 'new poets'), in that they cast off the heroic model handed down from Ennius in order to strike new ground and ring a contemporary note. Catullus and Callimachus did not describe the feats of ancient heroes and gods (except perhaps in re-evaluating and predominantly artistic circumstances, e.g. poems 63 and 64), focusing instead on small-scale personal themes. Although these poems sometimes seem quite superficial and their subjects often are mere everyday concerns, they are accomplished works of art. Catullus described his work as expolitum, or polished, to show that the language he used was very carefully and artistically composed.

Catullus was also an admirer of Sappho, a female poet of the 7th century BC, and is the source for much of what we know or infer about her. Catullus 51 follows Sappho 31 so closely, that some believe the later poem to be, in part, a direct translation of the earlier poem, and 61 and 62 are certainly inspired by and perhaps translated directly from lost works of Sappho. Both of the latter are epithalamia, a form of laudatory or erotic wedding-poetry that Sappho had been famous for but that had gone out of fashion in the intervening centuries. Catullus sometimes used a meter that Sappho developed, called the Sapphic strophe. In fact, Catullus may have brought about a substantial revival of that form in Rome.

Style

Catullus wrote in many different meters including hendecasyllabic and elegiac couplets (common in love poetry). All of his poetry shows strong and occasionally wild emotions especially in regard to Lesbia. He also demonstrates a great sense of humour such as in Catullus 13.

Many of the literary techniques he used are still common today, including hyperbaton: “plenus saculus est aranearum” (Catullus 13), which translates as “[my] purse is all full – of cobwebs.” He also uses litotes e.g. “Salve, nec minimo puella naso nec bello pede nec…” (Catullus 43) (“hello, girl with a not so small nose and a not so pretty foot and...”) as well as tricolon and alliteration. He is also very fond of diminutives such as in Catullus 50: “Hestero, Licini, die otiose/multum lusimus in meis tabellis” – “Yesterday, Licinius, was a day of leisure/ playing many games in my little notebooks”.

Cultural references

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Gaius Valerius Catullus from Encyclopedia of World Biography accessed February 13, 2007
  2. ^ Hope, Ken, "Introduction on Catullus" at Catullus Translations, accessed February 13, 2007
  3. ^ A Parting Insult To Lesbia
  4. ^ Side-by-side comparison

Further reading

(first statement of the Lesbia = Clodia Luculli thesis)

(restatement and refinement of the Rothstein Clodia Luculli thesis)

- "Catullus and Martial", PACA 6 (1963), 3-15 - Catullus (G&R New Surveys in The Classics No.20, Oxford, 1988)

- "Catulliana", Latomus 26 (1967), 104-6 - "Further Catulliana", Latomus 50 (1991), 92-3

- Catullan Questions (Leicester University Press, 1969) - Cinna the Poet and other Roman Essays (Leicester University Press, 1974) ISBN 0-7185-1120-4 - Catullus and his World: A Reappraisal (Cambridge University Press, 1987)

- "A Further Point in Catullus' attack on Volusius", G&R n.s.27 (1980), 134-36 - "The Unstated Climax of Catullus 64", G&R n.s.30 (1983), 21-30

- Johnson, M: Introduction (i-v) - Deuling, Judy: "Catullus 17 and 67, and the Catullan Construct", (1-9) (discusses Dettmer thesis in relation to one pairing, 17 and 67) - Tesoriero, Charles: "Hidden Kisses in Catullus: Poems 5, 6, 7 and 8", (10-18) - Uden, James: "Embracing the Young Man in Love: Catullus 75 and the Comic Adulescens", (19-34) - Watson, Lindsay C: "Catullus and the Poetics of Incest", (35-48) - Greene, Ellen: "Catullus, Caesar and the Roman Masculine Identity", (49-64) - Hallett, Judith: "Catullus and Horace on Roman Women Poets", (65-88) - Clarke, Jacqueline: "Bridal Songs: Catullan Epithalamia and Prudentius Peristephanon 3", (89-103) - Jackson, Anna: "Catullus in the Playground", (104-116)

External links

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Catullus
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of The Poetry of Gaius Valerius Catullus
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Catullus
The poems (Carmina) of Catullus
Lesbia poems 2, 2b, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 36, 37, 51, 58, 68, 70, 72, 75, 76, 79, 83, 85, 86, 87, 91, 92, 104, 107, 109
Invective poems 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 33, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 57, 59, 60, 69, 71, 73, 74, 77, 78, 80, 84, 88, 89, 90, 93, 95, 97, 98, 103, 108, 110, 111, 112, 113, 116
Unusual poetic meters 4, 8, 11, 17, 22, 25, 29, 30, 31, 34, 37, 39, 44, 51, 52, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64
Hendecasyllabic verse 1, 2, 2b, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 14b, 15, 16, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 58b
Elegiac couplets 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116
Related links List of poems by Catullus · Codex Vaticanus Ottobonianus Latinus 1829

Categories: 1st-century BC Romans | 1st-century BC writers | 1st-century BC poets | Catullus | 84 BC births | 54 BC deaths | LGBT history in Italy | People from Verona

 

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Catullus. 64. We have finished 64...the question remains; who "won"? Both Ariadne and Thesues risked quite a bit for their respective aims. Whose goal was attained at a greater risk? Posted by dodonnell at 6:26 AM ...

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What Latin poet wrote "Durum sed levius fit patienta/Quidquid corrigere est nefas"?
Q. Classical author: Horace? Catullus?
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A. Horace Book I Ode xxiv quintusHoratiusFlaccus Quis desiderio sit pudor aut modus Tam cari capitis? Praecipe lugubris Cantus, Melpomene, cui liquidam pater Vocem cuni cithara dedit. Ergo Quintilium perpetuus sopor Urget; cui Pudor et Iustitiae soror, Incorrupta Fides, nudaque Veritas Quando ullum inveniet parem? Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit, Nulli flebilior quam tibi, Vergili. Tu frustra pius heu non ita creditum Poscis Quintilium deos. Quid? si Threicio blandius Orpheo Auditam moderere arboribus fidem, Num vanae redeat sangiiis imagini, Quam virga semel horrida Non lenis precibus fata recludere, Nigro compulerit Mercurius gregi? Durum: sed levius fit patientia, Quidquid corrigere est nefas.
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