This Day in Ancient History - Horace died
Thursday November 27, 2008
Son of a freedman, the Roman poet Horace lived from
December 8, 65 B.C. to November 27, 8 B.C. Suetonius writes
He was born on the sixth of the ides of December, in the consulship of Lucius Cotta and Lucius Torquatus; and died on the fifth of the calends of December, in the consulship of Caius Marcius Censorinus and Caius Asinius Gallus; having completed his fifty-ninth year.Horace fought on the losing side of the Battle of Philippi, under Caesar's assassin Brutus. One of the Roman satirists, Horace was later commissioned by Augustus to compose a poem for the Secular Games, a 3-day event that was meant to mark the end of an era and beginning of the next. The secular games included theatrical performances and religious rituals.
If you're studying Latin, Horace is one of the Roman poets you're likely to encounter. Because he advocates the golden mean, rather than indulging in great passions, he may be less appealing to adolescents than more passionate Roman poets, like Ovid or Catullus.
Horace image © Clipart.com.
Comments
Hello. I hope this note reaches you. Not too long ago I discovered About.com had more to offer than classic poetry, and since then I spend so much time with you and your articles and cannot get enough. I save everything you send in my daily email and can easily spend hours going through it all. I’ve learned so much from you. I have read Suetonius, Plato, Livy, Plutarch, Thucydides, Herodotus, Xenophon, Hesiod, Aristotle, and am at least a little familiar with those I’ve not gotten to yet. I’m tearing through ancient Greece like a mad woman !
Recently I purchased a beginner’s guide to Latin on DVD, an inter-active DVD, which was good enough for starters but geared more toward children. Can you offer any suggestions for further and more in-depth learning ? Also, I would like to begin Greek and would be greatful for any information you might give on that. I speak Spanish in addition to English and it is great fun to notice the correlation between words in English and those in Spanish. Having started with Latin now, I see even more correlations and also just how far back workds go. It is extremely interesting and exciting to me, the learning of the etymology of words we all use and don’t think anything about.
Again, I am so happy with what you’ve taught me and how you make the pull for me toward both Greece and Rome even stronger.
If you have time I would love any further information you might care to share. I just don’t seem to be able to get enough to slake this thirst I have for these subjects. You mentioned in one article a book entitled “Scientific Terminology” by Hough, and I will try to find it through eBay or another out of print retailer. Mention some more ! Please !
Happy Thanksgiving to you, by the bye. You will see from this letter how I spent mine with Tantalus and Pelops and Demeter and Persephone.
My personal email is [ removed by Guide ]. Hopefully I don’t need to tell you what a boon it would be for me to hear from you. You are so intelligent.
Lynn Stover
Greetings Lynn-
Thanks for your very kind words.
Are you aware of the Ancient/Classical History Forum? It’s a place to ask about all the things you want information about: forum
It has been very slow lately, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t read it and wouldn’t respond to a topic of interest.
Anatole Lieberman wrote a great book on etymologies. There are also Nicholas Ostler’s Ad Infinitum about the Latin language (reviewed on my site), Palmer’s The Latin Language, and Trask’s Historical Linguistics that might interest you. You could try inter-library loan first instead of spending a fortune on them.
There are online groups that study Latin, generally from Wheelock.