Love Poetry Geographical and Historical References

Question 1

Libyssae harenae (Catullus 7)

Answer 1

“The sands of Libya”
Libya represented North Africa to the Romans
Most of North Africa is desert, so there is a lot of sand

Question 2

lasarpiciferis Cyrenis (Catullus 7)

Answer 2

“Silphium-bearing Cyrene”
Silphium is a plant that had medicinal qualities and as a seasoning and was used for contraception among other things
It was an essential item of trade for the ancient North African city of Cyrene
Cyrene was the hope of Callimachus, Catullus’ main poetic influence

Question 3

Batti veteris (Catullus 7)

Answer 3

“Old Battus” was the founder of Cyrene and the ancestor of Callimachus

Question 4

Hiberum (Catullus 9)

Answer 4

“The Iberians” - Spain

Question 5

Libya Indiaque tosta (Catullus 45)

Answer 5

“Libya and scorched India”

Africa and Asia were ‘exotic’ places far away from Rome which were considered dangerous because of all the wildlife (such as lions)

Question 6

Syrias Britanniasque (Catullus 45)

Answer 6

“Syria and Britain”
At the point when Catullus was writing this poem, Marcus Licinius Crassus was leading an army into Syria and Julius Caesar was leading one into Britain
Both places were seen as sources of victory and glory in battle (despite, ironically, neither being properly conquered by the Romans)

Question 7

Troia (Catullus 65)

Answer 7

“Troy”
An ancient city in Asia Minor
Now modern-day north west Anatolia

Question 8

Rhoeto (Catullus 65)

Answer 8

“Rhoetum”

A headland near Troy

Question 9

Partheniis antris (Propertius 1.1)

Answer 9

“Parthenian caves”

Mount Parthenius was a mountain in Arcadia

Question 10

Arcadiis rupibus (Propertius 1.1)

Answer 10

“Arcadian cliffs”

Arcadia was a mountainous region of southern Greece in the Peloponnese

Question 11

Cnosia (Propertius 2.12)

Answer 11

“Cnosian”

Cnosos was the ancient capital of Crete, which was known for its ancient archers

Question 12

Clitumnus (Propertius 2.19)

Answer 12

A river in Umbria in central Italy (near where Propertius was born)
Its valley was known for its springs, brooks, groves of poplar trees and white cattle

Question 13

Esquiliis (Propertius 3.23)

Answer 13

“The Esquiline”
A newer residential district of Augustan Rome
It was not as fashionable due to the distance from the Forum, so less wealthy Romans would have lived there

Question 14

Canis (Tibullus 1.1)

Answer 14

“The Dog Star”

Represents the height of summer and intense heat

Question 15

hibernus Auster (Tibullus 1.1)

Answer 15

“Wintry South wind”

Winds from the south brought clouds and rain

Question 16

Messalla (Tibullus 1.1, Sulpicia 3.14)

Answer 16

Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64BC-8AD)
A Roman orator, soldier and statesman who was very successful in battle
Tibullus’ patron and Sulpicia’s uncle and guardian

Question 17

dives Panchaia (Lygdamus 3.2)

Answer 17

“Rich Panchaia”
Originally a more or less imagined Utopian island in the Indian Ocean
Pliny makes it a region of Arabia Felix, an extremely fertile producer of incense and spices

Question 18

Eoique Arabes (Lygdamus 3.2)

Answer 18

“Eastern Arabia”
Arabia exported incense and myrrh, gold and precious stones and re-exported Indian spices and other products
“Eos” is a synonym for “dives” since the wealth of the Orient had become proverbial for the Romans

Question 19

dives Assyria (Lygdamus 3.2)

Answer 19

“Rich Assyria”
A region in Mesopotamia located in the northern Tigris valley
Now modern-day Iraq

Question 20

Phrygiis columnis (Lygdamus 3.3)

Answer 20

“Phrygian columns”
Phrygia was the area of central and western Asia Minor where Troy was located
Its marble, white with reddish veins, was highly prized by the ancients

Question 21

Taenare (Lygdamus 3.3)

Answer 21

Taenarus was a cape at the extreme southwestern peninsula of the Peloponnese in Greece, famous for its temple to Poseidon
The marble described here is likely to be red

Question 22

Caryste (Lygdamus 3.3)

Answer 22

Carystus was a town on the southern coast of the Aegean island of Euboea famed as a source of ‘cipollino’ marble with parallel white and green lines like the head of an onion

Question 23

Erythraeo litore (Lygdamus 3.3)

Answer 23

“The Erythraean shore”

Erythraea was the area of ocean in the modern-day Arabian Sea

Question 24

Sidonio murice (Lygdamus 3.3)

Answer 24

“Sidonian purple”

Sidon was a Phoenician coastal city where a particular dark purple dye was made that was renowned in antiquity as one of the finest and most expensive of the time

Question 25

Lydius aurifer amnis (Lygdamus 3.3)

Answer 25

“Lydia’s gold-filled stream”
Probably the river Pactolus in Sardis, the capital of Lydia in Asia Minor, whch was famed for carrying great quantities of gold nuggests from Mount Tmolus
By the times of Augustus the river no longer had much gold but the name of the river had become a proverbial symbol of wealth

Question 26

Cypria (Lygdamus 3.3)

Answer 26

“The one from Cyprus” i.e. Venus

Venus’ first temple was built on Cyprus, an island in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

Question 27

Arretino agro (Sulpicia 3.14)

Answer 27

“Arretium’s fields”

An Etrurian town in Tuscany in the upper Tiber valley presumably near Messalla’s villa