We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
1–18
The eighteen lines of proem to the fourth book of the Fasti, which opens the second quarter of the year (or second half of O.'s sixmonth poem), are designed to recall but mark with significant differences both the proem of book 1, composed to introduce the whole year, and the proem of the preceding month of March, addressed to Venus' consort, Mars, joint ancestor of Romulus and protector of his people.
Thus 4.11–12 repeats the opening couplet of book 1, indicating the contents of the Fasti, with two changes: the future canam of 1.2 has become present cano, since O. is now in progress through the year, and the second half of 4.11 substitutes the corresponding part of 1.7 annalibus eruta priscis for the reference in 1.1 to the Latin calendar year. It is now the occasions, tempora, not the rituals, sacra, that are described as retrieved from ancient annals.
But while the proem to book 1, in its re-edited version, was dedicated to the mortal prince and patron Germanicus (and answered by the proemiac address to Caesar in book 11) the proems to books III and IV are addressed to the gods after whom, as O. will argue, the months are named. Mars, the mythical father of Romulus, won apotheosis for his son (2.481–90, imitating the treatment of the same deification in Ennius, Annales 1), but Venus' link with Romulus was more obscure; although she had been the consort of Mars, by whom she gave birth to Amor (Cupid), the ancestry of Romulus had to be traced through her mortal son Aeneas, whose descendant Ilia was impregnated by Mars to produce the twins Romulus and Remus.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
