PROPERTIUS: Elegies 4.6: The Temple of Palatine Apollo Flashcards
When was this poem written and what did this coincide with?
16BC
This coincided with the celebration of the Actian Games in Nikopoli, the city founded after Actium, near the site of the battle
What is the significance of this poem?
- Recalls the Battle of Actium
- Glorifies the temple of Palatine Apollo
What were the Actian Games?
- Games held in Nikopolis
- In honour of Apollo, they included athletic contests, musical competitions, horse racing and mock sea battles
- Inaugurated by Octavian, they were celebrated every four years
The priest makes…
The priest makes the sacrifice: let silence aid it, and let the heifer fall
Let Rome’s wreath…
Let Rome’s wreath compete with Philetas’ ivy-clusters
Give me soft…
Give me soft costmary, and offerings of lovely incense… Sprinkle me with water
Let purifying laurel…
Let purifying laurel smooth the priest’s fresh path
Calliope, the subject…
Calliope, the subject is worthy of your favour
This song is…
This song is created in Caesar’s name
Jupiter, I beg…
Jupiter, I beg you, yourself, to listen
Here the world’s…
Here the world’s forces gathered: a weight of pine stood on the water
The enemy force…
The enemy force was doomed by Trojan Quirinus
Augustus’ ships, sails…
Augustus’ ships, sails filled by Jupiter’s favour
Standards now skilful…
Standards now skilful in victory for their country
Now Nereus bent…
Now Nereus bent the formations in a twin arc
Phoebus… stood over…
Phoebus… stood over Augustus’ stern, and a strange flame shone, three times, snaking down in oblique fire
Phoebus did not…
Phoebus did not come with his hair streaming around his neck, or with the mild song of the tortoise lyre
O, Augustus…
O, Augustus, world-deliverer, sprung from Alba Longa
Acknowledged as greater…
Acknowledged as greater than your Trojan ancestors
Free your country…
Free your country from fear, that relying on you as its protector, weights your prow with the State’s prayers
Shameful that Latium’s…
Shameful that Latium’s waters should suffer a queen’s sails
Their fleet…
Their fleet rides an unwilling sea
Though their prows…
Though their prows carry Centaurs with threatening stones, you’ll find they are hollow timber and painted terrors
I lead the…
I lead the Julian prows with laurelled hand
Rome won, through…
Rome won, through Apollo’s loyalty: the woman was punished
Broken sceptres…
Broken sceptres floated on the Ionian sea
Caesar, his ‘father’…
Caesar, his ‘father’ marvelled, and spoke from his comet released by Venus: ‘I am a god: and this shows evidence of my race’
Triton… and the goddesses…
Triton… and the goddesses of the sea applauded
What sort of…
What sort of triumph would one woman make in the streets where Jugurtha was once led
I have sung…
I have sung of war enough: Apollo my victor now demands my lyre, and sheds his weapons for the dance of peace
Bacchus you are…
Bacchus you are used to being an inspiration to your Apollo
The priest makes the sacrifice: let silence aid it, and let the heifer fall:
- Reminiscent of a festival day with a ritual sacrifice
Let Rome’s wreath compete with Philetas’ ivy-clusters:
- Comparison of Greek and Roman symbols of greatness
- Puts Rome on par with Greece in terms of excellence, elevating Rome
- Philetas was a famous Greek poetry, Propertius modelled his poetry off of his.
- Ivy clusters refers to an ivy wreath worn by Philetas
Give me soft costmary, and offerings of lovely incense… Sprinkle me with water
- Order of steps taken in a religious ritual
- Augustus is therefore presented as Rome’s religious leader
- This reinforces his morality, as he is shown to respect the gods
Let purifying laurel smooth the priest’s fresh path:
- A symbol of both military victory, and one of religion, as purifying eater is sprinkled in a sacrifice
Calliope, the subject is worthy of your favour:
- In the Classical era, when the Muses were assigned specific artistic spheres, Calliope was named Muse of epic poetry
- This is an elegy, not an epic, so it’s unusual that Propertius invoked Calliope here
Describe an epic poem:
- A long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the past history of a nation
What are the conventions of epic poetry?
CONVENTIONS:
- Written in elevated style
- Episodes important in the history of a nation
- Panoramic setting
- Hero is a man of great stature
- Action consists of courageous deeds
- Supernatural forces present
Describe the style of an elogy:
- A poem written in elegiac couplets
What is the significance of mentioning the Epic muse?
- The conventions of the epic are applied to the elegy
- This presents Augustus as heroic and Actium as a legendary battle, thus giving it status and elevating Augustus’ victory
Jupiter, I beg you, yourself, to listen:
- Associates Augustus with Jupiter thus reinforcing is link to the gods and elevating his status
- Augustus portrayed as greater than Jupiter, as Propertius uses direct address to invoke the god to listen to Augustus’ own victory
Here the world’s forces gathered:
- Hyperbole denoting the battle of Actium
- The use of exaggeration brings status to Augustus’ victory, making it seem more heroic than that of reality
A weight of pine stood on the water:
- Metonymy
- Metaphor for ships
The enemy fleet was doomed by Trojan Quirinus
- Alternative name for Romulus, founder of Rome
Augustus’ ship, sails filled by Jupiter’s favour:
- Indicative of the notion that the gods were on Augustus’ side
- Suggests that Augustus was favoured by the gods, thus emphasising that he had ‘divine right’ to rule
Standards now skilful in victory for their country:
- Personification of the standards
- Allusion to the return of the Parthian standards
- Demonstrates Augustus’ military adeptness and his role in restoring Rome’s morale
Now Nereus bent the formations in a twin arc:
- Nereus is the sea god of naval strategy
- By invoking Nereus, Augustus is presented as having the favour of gods thus emphasising his divine right to rule
- His close association with gods also strengthened his claims of being their descendant and his legitimacy to rule
Phoebus… stood over Augustus’ stern, and a strange flame shone, three times, snaking down in oblique fire:
- Augustus has the support of Apollo and the gods
- Also strengthens his claim that he was descended from Apollo, which elevates his status
- Aligns him strongly with what Apollo stood for- discipline and morality
Greedy fires:
Destroyed the Python:
- Allusions to Apollo’s power which in turn elevates Augustus as he associated himself closely with Apollo
- ‘Python’- Apollo came to Delphi, killing the giant snake which had been there
Phoebus did not come out with his hair streaming round his neck, or with the mild song of the tortoise shell lyre, but with that aspect that gazed on Agamemnon:
- Apollo caused a plague in the Greek camp during the Trojan war because Agamemnon condemned a Prophetess to death
- Apollo is presented as duplicitous here- he possesses the capacity for peace, but also violence
O, Augustus world-deliverer, sprung from Alba Longa
- Propertius is referencing here the close personal bond that Augustus suggested that he possessed with Apollo
- Alba Longa is a city founded by Aeneas on the site of Rome- a reminder of Augustus’ divine heritage
Free your country from fear, that relying on you as its protector weights your prow with the State’s prayers:
- Apollo gives Augustus the responsibility to look after the country, suggests that the gods are on Augustus’ side
- Augustus shown as a protector and leader
