Aesthetica - Ancient Roman Erotic Poems 01
Ancient Roman Erotic Poem - “Amores” (1) [Related Post]
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Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (43 BCE–17/18 CE)’s “Amores” (The Loves) was first published in 16 BCE. It is a collection of witty erotic elegies, detailing Ovid’s tumultuous, but humorous, personal love affairs.
Spanning 3 books (first published in 5 books), “Amores” explores various themes of jealousy, secret rendezvous, and the joys and pains of love.
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Eroticism in “Amores”
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| The Eros Farnese |
“Thy lover is a soldier, and Cupid hath his camp. Aye, believe me, Atticus, every lover is a soldier. The age which suiteth war is also favourable to Venus. A fig for an elderly soldier! A fig for an elderly lover! The age which generals demand in a brave soldier is the age which a fair young woman demands in the possessor of her charms. Soldier and lover have, each, their vigil to keep; both couch upon the hard ground; both have their watch to keep, the one at the door of his mistress, the other at the door of his general. What a weary way the soldier hath to march! And the lover, when his mistress is exiled, will follow her, with a stout heart, to the uttermost limits of the world.” (elegy 9, book 1. Amores)
Pleasure – Voluptas
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| Banquet of Amor and Psyche (circa 1526–1528) by Giulio Romano |
“’Tis sweet, again, to view the mighty strife Of armies embattled yonder o’er the plains, Ourselves no sharers in the peril; but naught There is more goodly than to hold the high Serene plateaus, well fortressed by the wise, Whence thou may’st look below on other men And see them ev’rywhere wand’ring, all dispersed In their lone seeking for the road of life;” (Book 2, Proem, On the Nature of Things. Lucretius)
The Logistics of Illicit Love
Convivium (dinner party) and Secret Signals
“Cease not to bid thy husband drink; but add no kisses to thy prayers; and so long as he shall be able to swallow, stint not secretly to fill his cup with strong wine. When he is overcome by sleep and liquor, we ourselves will do what the place and the circumstances permit.” (Book 1, Elegy 4, Amores)
“See to it that thou comest before thy husband. I do not surely foresee what, if thou dost so, may befall; yet be there before him. When he shall have lain him down beside the table, go thou, with mien demure, and lay thee at his side, but forget not, as thou passest, to rub my foot, but, secretly, so that he shall not see. Never take thine eyes off me; take heed of all my movements and note the discourse of my eyes. Secretly receive, and secretly send forth, these signals of our love. Though they utter no word, my eyebrows shall speak to thee; my fingers, aye, and the very wine itself shall have their language. When thou bethinkest thee of the delights we taste together, thou and I, pass thy dainty hand o’er the roses of thy cheeks, If there is aught wherewith thou wouldst secretly reproach me, softly, with thy fingers, touch the tip of thine ear. When the signs I make, or the words I speak, delight thee, then be sure, my starry one, to twist thy ring about thy finger.” (Book 1, Elegy 4, Amores)
The Ianitor (doorkeeper) and the Locked Door
“Open, I say, open, or I, better prepared than thou, with my sword and with the fire I bear within my torch, will break into this disdainful house. Night, Love and Wine counsel no half-hearted measures. Night knoweth not shame. Love and Wine know not fear. Everything, prayers, threats have I essayed, but all in vain, nought could avail to move thee, O man more deaf than the door thou guardest! Thou wast not made to guard a lovely woman’s door. Thy office should be to keep the key of a loathsome dungeon. But see, the morning star is risen, and the cock’s shrill trumpet calls the labourer to his task.” (Book 1, Elegy 6, Amores)
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| Cupid (circa 1897–1899) by Bertel Thorvaldsen |
The Maid and the Go-Between
“O thou who with such happy art dost bind and range thy mistress’s hair, thou whom ‘twere unjust to place in the ranks of ordinary servants, Nape, as skilful in contriving nocturnal assignations as in conveying missives to my beloved, thou hast often persuaded the hesitating Corinna to come to my arms; thou whose loyalty hath ofttimes saved me in a crisis, take these tablets and deliver them this very morning to my mistress. May thine ingenuity prove triumphant over eve obstacle.” (Book 1, Elegy 11, Amores)
“In payment for these my services, my dusky Cypassis, grant me the sweet pleasure of lying with you to-day. Why do you say no? Why, ungrateful girl, why pretend you are afraid? It will be enough to have deserved well of one of your masters. If you are silly enough to refuse, I shall confess all we have done, I shall become my own accuser, and I shall tell your mistress — yes, I shall, Cypassis — where and how often we have met, what we did, in how many ways, And what they were.” (Book 2, Elegy 8, Amores)
The Julian Laws – Leges Iuliae
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| Venus and Mars, with Cupid (Roman fresco in Pompeii) |
“Poetry hath power to bring the blood-red moon to earth; poetry stayeth in mid-career the snow-white coursers of the sun. Poetry robbeth the serpent of his poisoned fang, and maketh the rivers to flow backward to their sources. Poetry hath battered down doors, it hath forced back locks, how tight soever they were welded to the massy oak.” (Book 2, Elegy 1, Amores)
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Further reading (sponsored by Amazon):
● Llewelyn Morgan (2020). Ovid: A Very Short Introduction. 144 pages. Oxford University Press.
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“Ovid: A Very Short Introduction” explains Ovid's background, social and literary, and introduces his poetry, on love, metamorphosis, Roman festivals, and his own exile, a restlessly innovative oeuvre driven by the irrepressible ingenium or wit for which Ovid was famous. In “Ovid: A Very Short Introduction,” Llewelyn Morgan also explores Ovid's immense influence on later literature and art, spanning from Shakespeare to Bernini! Throughout “Ovid: A Very Short Introduction,” Ovid's poetry is revealed as enduringly scintillating, Ovid’s personal story compelling, and the issues Ovid’s life and poetry raise of continuing relevance and interest!
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
1: Introduction: P. Ovidius Naso
2: Love poetry
3: Letters of the heroines
4: Metamorphoses
5: The Fasti
6: Exile poetry
Further reading
Index
