Horace, Epistles I

Parshia Lee-Stecum (University of Melbourne)

Ed. by William John Dominik, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Dates

First circulation or publication -20

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

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Recommended Reading

Horace’s

Epistles

1 is a collection of twenty stylized letters written in dactylic hexameter verse. The poems vary from thirteen lines (Epistle 9) to one hundred and twelve lines (Epistle 18) in length. Based on a reference to the age of the poet in the final poem, the collection was published in or near 21 BCE.

Epistles

1 is the earliest surviving collection of verse letters from Greco-Roman antiquity. While several earlier poems, including Horace’s own

Satires

1 and 2 (published in the late 30s BCE), resemble letters in address and form, it is probable that the publication of a complete collection of poetic epistles was an innovation on Horace’s part.

Prior to the publication of Epistles 1, the best known published letters were prose works dealing with philosophical themes and

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1050 words

Citation: Lee-Stecum, Parshia. "Epistles I". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 January 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13376, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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