Ode 1.37 - Cleopatra Flashcards
What is a Salian feast?
a feast during which statues of the gods were laid out on the furniture.
Why does Horace describe Cleopatra as ‘a maddened queen’?
she has ambitions and is a threat to the Roman way of life, she’s plotting the ruin of the empire.
Analyse the phrase ‘intoxicated by Fortune’s favour’
implies Cleopatra is drunk with the idea of power.
she was proclaimed Queen of Kings in 34 BCE and the Romans worried she wanted to become Queen of Rome.
Analyse the exaggeration of the number of ships that managed to escape
Horace says ‘scarcely a single ship’ managed to escape but 120 escaped in reality.
this is evidence of how Augustus re-cast events when they didn’t align with the image he wanted to create.
How is Cleopatra characterised in this poem?
as a powerful threat and formidable enemy.
What does the reference to Achilles prompt the audience to do?
draw parallels between Augustus and Achilles.
