sive mutata iuvenem figura ales in terris imitaris, almae filius Maiae, patiens vocari Caesaris ultor. Serus in caelum redeas diuque laetus intersis populo Quirini, neve te nostris vitiis iniquum ocior aura tollat; hic magnos potius triumphos, hic ames dici pater atque princeps, neu sinas Medos equitare inultos te duce, Caesar.
“Or having changed shape, do you winged one, son of nourishing Maia, imitate the young man on earth, called the unyielding avenger of Caesar? May you return to heaven at a late hour and be present for a long while with the people of Romulus, and may no swifter breeze take you, injured by our crimes. Here are rather great triumphs, here may you love to be pronounced father and first citizen, and, with you as general, not allow the unpunished Medes to ride, Caesar!” – Horace Odes1.2.41-52
Remember the time that Horace wrote that Octavian is really just Mercury in disguise??
(Are you making war again, Venus, after so long a truce? Have mercy, I beg you, I begyou! I am not the man I was in the reign of Cinara the Good. Stop, o cruel mother of sweet Desires, stop driving one who after nearly fifty years is now too hardened to answer your soft commands. Away, and make for a place to which the young men with their coaxing appeals are calling you.)
@readingancientclassics on Instagram is dedicated to discussions of ancient texts, reviews of myth retellings, and group read-alongs of classical literature. I’d love for you to join me there
always fun to see what scholars will call ’(one of) the most famous scene(s) in latin literature’ because sometimes it’s like. yeah i get that. and other times it’s like. bestie i think you are overestimating the number of people who care about livy. anyway this is an invitation to please put what you consider the most famous scene in latin (or greek ig) literature in the tags because I Would Like To Know :-)
Plugging my Instagram here! I’m on Instagram under @readingancientclassics, where I post discussions of both ancient literature and modern myth retellings, as well as organizing group read-alongs/online bookclubs! I would absolutely love for you to join me there - feel free to follow & share your thoughts on any of the books/topics raised in the posts!
