Women from upper-class and aristocratic families composed poetry in ancient Rome, particularly during the Late Republic and Imperial ages. Unfortunately, very little has survived. Among the extant work of female writers is the poetry of Sulpicia (sometimes referred to as Sulpicia I in order to distinguish her from the poet of the same name who wrote during the reign of Domitian [CE 81-96]).
Sulpicia lived during the Augustan Age (27 BCE- CE 14) and may have been the daughter of Servius Sulpicius Rufus (106-43 BCE) and the niece of Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64 BCE-CE 8). Support for the familial ties is found in the poetry itself, containing as it does one reference to Messalla (4.8.5) and one to Servius (4.10.4); in the first citation she mentions Messalla as kinsman, and in the
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Citation: Johnson, Marguerite. "Sulpicia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 April 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12616, accessed 09 December 2024.]