Fasti (poem)
Encyclopedia
The Fasti is a six-book Latin poem
by Ovid
believed to have been left unfinished when the poet was exiled to Tomis
by the emperor Augustus
in the year 8. Written in elegiac couplet
s and drawing on conventions of Greek
and Latin didactic poetry, the Fasti is structured as a series of eye-witness reports and interviews with deities by the first-person
vates
("poet-prophet" or "bard"), who explains the origins of Roman holidays and associated customs, often with multiple aetiologies. It is thus a significant and sometimes unique source for the study of Roman religion
, and the influential anthropologist and ritualist
J.G. Frazer translated and annotated the work for the Loeb Classical Library
series. Each book covers one month, January through June, of the Roman calendar
, which had been revised only recently by Julius Caesar
into the form known as the Julian calendar
.
The reputation of the Fasti has suffered more ups and downs than any other of Ovid's major works. It was widely read in the 15th–18th centuries, and influenced a number of mythological paintings in the tradition of Western art. But as one scholar has noted, throughout the 20th century "anthropologists and students of Roman religion … found it full of errors, an inadequate and unreliable source for Roman cultic practice and belief. Literary critics have generally regarded the Fasti as an artistic failure." Starting in the late 1980s, however, the work has enjoyed a revival of scholarly interest, and has appeared in new English translations.
, a collection of elegiac letters on the poet's exile, mentions the Fasti, and that its completion had been interrupted by his banishment from Rome. Ovid also mentions that he had written the entire work, and finished revising six books. However, no ancient source quotes even a fragment from the supposedly six missing books.
The Fasti is dedicated to Germanicus
, a high ranking member of the emperor
Augustus
's family
. These circumstances have led some to speculate that the poem was written on religious, patriotic
, and antiquarian
themes in order to improve Ovid's standing with the rulers of Rome and secure his release from exile.
of Hesiod
, which includes mythological lore, astronomical observations, and an agricultural calendar. For the astronomical sections, Ovid was preceded by Aratus
' Phaenomena as well as lost poetry on constellations and probably Germanicus
' adaptation of Aratus (Fasti 1.17-27). The most significant influence on Ovid were the Roman fasti, the Roman calendrical lists, which included dates, notices of festivals, ritual prohibitions and proscriptions, anniversaries of important events, and sometimes aetiological material. Ovid often mentions consulting these calendars, such as his reference at 1.11 to pictos fastos and his references to the actual annotation marks of the calendar. The most important of these calendars for Ovid were probably the Fasti Praenestini, a contemporary calendar constructed and annotated by the grammarian Verrius Flaccus
, whose fragments include much ritual material that can be found in Ovid's poem. The concept of putting these calendars into verse however, seems to be a uniquely Ovidian concept.
Besides his use of calendars and astronomical poetry, Ovid's multi-generic, digressive narrative and learned poem depends on the full range of ancient poetry and prose. In this, one of the most important works for Ovid was Callimachus
' Aetia; the use of divine interlocutors, elegiac meter, various generic registers, and a focus on explaining the origins of customs and festivals are all significant features of Callimachus' work. The Fourth Book of Propertius, who claimed to be the Roman Callimachus, might also be a model since it also deals with aetiologies of Roman customs and myths. His etymologizing implies an interest in Roman antiquarianism, particularly the works of Varro
on etymology and Roman religion. He similarly makes use of much Roman history writing, which must include lost historical poetry as well as the annal tradition (Ovid says in the prologue that one of his sources are ancient annals (annalibus...priscis (1.7)). In his longer narrative sections, Ovid makes use of tragedy, epic poetry, elegy, and Hellenistic mythological poems. For some episodes, the sources Ovid used are untraceable. On the Roman side, Ovid particularly focuses on and employs Virgil
's Aeneid
and Eclogues, most notably in the long section on Anna in Book 3. As in the Metamorphoses, Ovid's use of Virgil is multifaceted; he often prefers to invert or abbreviate Virgil's episodes. Ovid will regularly deliberately pass over material covered in the Aeneid and expand a small section or a neglected episode into an elaborate narrative.
or fasti
. Each of its separate books discusses one month of the Roman calendar, beginning with January. It contains some brief astronomical
notes, but its more significant portions discuss the religious festivals of the Roman religion
, the rites performed upon them, and their mythological
explanations. These explanations preserve much mythological and religious lore that would have otherwise been lost.
, Ovid's recusatio
, and a description of the poem's theme as the Roman calendar, festivals, and annual astronomical events, followed by a discussion of Romulus
' and Numa
's invention of the Roman calendar. The first episode (63-294) is an interview between the poet and the god Janus
about the details of his nature as primal creator (Chaos
), history, iconography, and festival on the Kalends of January. The second long episode (317-456) describes the Agonalia
, the aetiologies of sacrificial animals, the story of Aristaeus
, and the story of Lotis and Priapus
. The third episode (461-636) for the Carmentalia
discusses the exile of Evander to Latium, the prophecy of his mother Carmentis about Aeneas
, Augustus
, and Livia
, and the myth of Hercules
and Cacus
, ending with the praise of the family of Augustus. The end of the book talks about the festival of Concordia
(637-650), the movable Sementivae
with a prayer for agricultural productivity (655-704), and the feast of the Ara Pacis
(709-724).
and the dolphin (79-118), Augustus' assumption of the title pater patriae (119-148), the myth of Callisto
(153-192), the fall of the Fabii at the battle of Cremera
(193-242), and the fable of the constellations of the Raven, Snake, and Crater (243-266). The next long section in the book discusses the festival of the Lupercalia
(267-474). The poet aetiologizes the nakedness of the Luperci with a story of Faunus' sexual humiliation when he tries to rape Hercules dressed as Omphale
and the story of Remus' defeat of cattle rustlers. The narrative of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus is also included. Lines 475-532 describe Romulus' transformation into Quirinus
, which is followed by the narrative of Lara in connection to the Feralia
(533-616). The final extensive section describing the Regifugium
describes the legends associated with the fall of the Tarquins, Lucretia
's rape and suicide, and Brutus
' revenge (685-855).
, the patron of the month; in connection to the god, the poet narrates the rape of Silvia
, the birth and discovery of Romulus and Remus, and ends with a discussion of March as the former first month of the year (1-166). Next, the poet interviews Mars who tells the story of the rape of the Sabine women to explain why women worship him, and of Numa's capture of Jupiter and the gift of the ritual shields, the ancilia and the introduction of the salii (167-398). Next Ovid relates two short narratives, the story of Romulus' asylum
and the temple of Jupiter Veiovis (429-458) and Ariadne's complaint of unfaithfulness to Bacchus and subsequent enskyment as Ariadne's crown (459-516). A long section describes the feast of Anna Perenna
on the Ides, focusing on the story of the Vergilian Anna's escape from Carthage and journey to Italy where she becomes the river Numicius, the legend of Anna's deceit of Mars when he attempted to woo Minerva, and ending with a note on the murder of Caesar (523-710). The end of the month includes the legends of Bacchus' discovery of honey for the Liberalia
(713-808), a prayer to Minerva for the Quinquatrus (809-848), and the story of Phrixus
and Helle
for the Tubilustrium
(849-878).
's children, the castration of Attis
, the goddess' transfer to Rome, and the story of Claudia Quinta
(179-375). The next narrative, which is the longest and most elaborate in the Fasti describes the Cerialia and the rape of Persephone, the wandering of Ceres, and the return of Persephone to Olympus
(393-620). The next extended section is regarding the festival of the Parilia
which includes agricultural prayers, aetiologies of customs, and the story of the founding augury and death of Remus (721-862). The final sections tell the story of Mezentius
in conncetion to the Vinalia
(863-900) and include an agricultural prayer on the Robigalia
(901-942).
the mother of Mercury
(1-110). Ovid is unable to decide on a correct etymology. In the next section the goddess Flora
appears and discusses her origin, her help in Juno's conceiving of a child, and the political origin of her games (159-378). The next notable narrative discusses the rituals of the Lemuria and the funeral of Remus (419-490). The birth of Orion from the urine (ouron) of the gods comes next (493-544). This is followed by the origin of the Temple of Mars Ultor (545-598), the end of human sacrifice at Rome (603-662), the worship of Mercury (663-692), and the death of Castor
and Pollux
(693-720).
) dispute over which goddess the month is named after (1-100). Ovid goes on to relate the story of the affair of Carna, the goddess of hinges, and Janus as well as the story of how Proca was defended from murderous owls by Cranae (101-195). The next large narrative is the discussion of iconography and aetiology of the Vestalia, the festival of Vesta. The cosmic identification of Vesta with the earth, the story of Priapus' attempted rape, the origin of the altar of Jupiter Pistoris (of the bakers) in the Gallic invasion of Rome, and the rescue of the Palladium
by Metellus in a fire at the temple are recounted (249-468). A short astronomical notice precedes the long discussion of the Matralia in which Ovid explains the origin of the cult of Mater Matuta
who as Ino
journeyed to Italy and was made a goddess (473-569). This is followed by the story of the murder of King Servius Tullius
, a lover of Mater Matuta. The Lesser Quinquatrus' legend follows about the exile and return of Roman flute players (649-710). The final notable episodes of the poem are the punishment of Aesculapius (733-762) and the praise of Marcia by Clio (797-812).
A current trend in Fasti scholarship has been towards a subversive and cynical reading of Ovid's voice in the poem. Carole Newlands has read the poem as particularly subversive of the regime and imperial propaganda; she believes that several passages point to the problem of curtailed free speech and artistic freedom under the empire without an influential patron to protect artists. She points out that Ovid seems to use divine interlocutors and especially divine disagreements to avoid authority and responsibility for the poem's statements, that there is an inherent and destabilizing tension with the presence of traditional Roman matronae in an elegiac poem (an erotic genre and meter), and that Ovid often uses astronomical notices and undermining narrative juxtapositions as a way of subverting seemingly encomiastic episodes.
Earlier scholars posited that the imperial festivals are actually the central focus of the poem embedded in an elaborated frame of charming stories, which serve to draw attention to the "serious" imperial narratives, a concept which Herbert-Brown argues against, while taking a less subversifying position than Newlands. Brown argues that Ovid's main consideration is versifying the calendar; although some sections may be subversive, Brown believes that for the most part Ovid's poem harmonizes with imperial ideology in an attempt to gain favor with the imperial household from exile. Seemingly problematic passages reflect mythological ambiguities that Ovid is playing with rather than subversion of the imperial family, and his burlesque treatments of religion are part of an established Roman attitude. An architectural framework is posited by Brown, who feels that the poem is structured around the great, contemporary architectural monuments of Rome.
Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings of the ancient Romans. In many ways, it seems to be a continuation of Greek literature, using many of the same forms...
by Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
believed to have been left unfinished when the poet was exiled to Tomis
Constanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
by the emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
in the year 8. Written in elegiac couplet
Elegiac couplet
The elegiac couplet is a poetic form used by Greek lyric poets for a variety of themes usually of smaller scale than the epic. Roman poets, particularly Ovid, adopted the same form in Latin many years later...
s and drawing on conventions of Greek
Ancient Greek literature
Ancient Greek literature refers to literature written in the Ancient Greek language until the 4th century.- Classical and Pre-Classical Antiquity :...
and Latin didactic poetry, the Fasti is structured as a series of eye-witness reports and interviews with deities by the first-person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
vates
Vates
The earliest Latin writers used vātēs to denote "prophets" and soothsayers in general; the word fell into disuse in Latin until it was revived by Virgil...
("poet-prophet" or "bard"), who explains the origins of Roman holidays and associated customs, often with multiple aetiologies. It is thus a significant and sometimes unique source for the study of Roman religion
Religion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...
, and the influential anthropologist and ritualist
Myth and ritual
In traditional societies, myth and ritual are two central components of religious practice. Although myth and ritual are commonly united as parts of religion, the exact relationship between them has been a matter of controversy among scholars...
J.G. Frazer translated and annotated the work for the Loeb Classical Library
Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library is a series of books, today published by Harvard University Press, which presents important works of ancient Greek and Latin Literature in a way designed to make the text accessible to the broadest possible audience, by presenting the original Greek or Latin text on each...
series. Each book covers one month, January through June, of the Roman calendar
Roman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
, which had been revised only recently by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
into the form known as the Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
.
The reputation of the Fasti has suffered more ups and downs than any other of Ovid's major works. It was widely read in the 15th–18th centuries, and influenced a number of mythological paintings in the tradition of Western art. But as one scholar has noted, throughout the 20th century "anthropologists and students of Roman religion … found it full of errors, an inadequate and unreliable source for Roman cultic practice and belief. Literary critics have generally regarded the Fasti as an artistic failure." Starting in the late 1980s, however, the work has enjoyed a revival of scholarly interest, and has appeared in new English translations.
Composition
Only the six books which concern the first six months of the year are extant. It may be that Ovid never finished it, that the remaining half is simply lost, or that only six books were intended. Ovid apparently worked on the poem while he was in exile at Tomis. The TristiaTristia
The Tristia is a collection of letters written in elegiac couplets by the Augustan poet Ovid during his exile from Rome. Despite five books of his copious bewailing of his fate, the immediate cause of Augustus's banishment of the greatest living Latin poet to Pontus in 8 AD remains a mystery...
, a collection of elegiac letters on the poet's exile, mentions the Fasti, and that its completion had been interrupted by his banishment from Rome. Ovid also mentions that he had written the entire work, and finished revising six books. However, no ancient source quotes even a fragment from the supposedly six missing books.
The Fasti is dedicated to Germanicus
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...
, a high ranking member of the emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
's family
Julio-Claudian Dynasty
The Julio-Claudian dynasty normally refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula , Claudius, and Nero, or the family to which they belonged; they ruled the Roman Empire from its formation, in the second half of the 1st century BC, until AD 68, when the last of the line,...
. These circumstances have led some to speculate that the poem was written on religious, patriotic
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
, and antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
themes in order to improve Ovid's standing with the rulers of Rome and secure his release from exile.
Poetic Models
The earliest classical calendrical poem which might have inspired Ovid is the Works and DaysWorks and Days
Works and Days is a didactic poem of some 800 verses written by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod around 700 BC. At its center, the Works and Days is a farmer's almanac in which Hesiod instructs his brother Perses in the agricultural arts...
of Hesiod
Hesiod
Hesiod was a Greek oral poet generally thought by scholars to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. His is the first European poetry in which the poet regards himself as a topic, an individual with a distinctive role to play. Ancient authors credited him and...
, which includes mythological lore, astronomical observations, and an agricultural calendar. For the astronomical sections, Ovid was preceded by Aratus
Aratus
Aratus was a Greek didactic poet. He is best known today for being quoted in the New Testament. His major extant work is his hexameter poem Phaenomena , the first half of which is a verse setting of a lost work of the same name by Eudoxus of Cnidus. It describes the constellations and other...
' Phaenomena as well as lost poetry on constellations and probably Germanicus
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...
' adaptation of Aratus (Fasti 1.17-27). The most significant influence on Ovid were the Roman fasti, the Roman calendrical lists, which included dates, notices of festivals, ritual prohibitions and proscriptions, anniversaries of important events, and sometimes aetiological material. Ovid often mentions consulting these calendars, such as his reference at 1.11 to pictos fastos and his references to the actual annotation marks of the calendar. The most important of these calendars for Ovid were probably the Fasti Praenestini, a contemporary calendar constructed and annotated by the grammarian Verrius Flaccus
Verrius Flaccus
Marcus Verrius Flaccus was a Roman grammarian and teacher who flourished under Augustus and Tiberius.-Life:He was a freedman, and his manumitter has been identified with Verrius Flaccus, an authority on pontifical law; but for chronological reasons the name of Veranius Flaccus, a writer on augury,...
, whose fragments include much ritual material that can be found in Ovid's poem. The concept of putting these calendars into verse however, seems to be a uniquely Ovidian concept.
Besides his use of calendars and astronomical poetry, Ovid's multi-generic, digressive narrative and learned poem depends on the full range of ancient poetry and prose. In this, one of the most important works for Ovid was Callimachus
Callimachus
Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar at the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian–Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes...
' Aetia; the use of divine interlocutors, elegiac meter, various generic registers, and a focus on explaining the origins of customs and festivals are all significant features of Callimachus' work. The Fourth Book of Propertius, who claimed to be the Roman Callimachus, might also be a model since it also deals with aetiologies of Roman customs and myths. His etymologizing implies an interest in Roman antiquarianism, particularly the works of Varro
Varro
Varro was a Roman cognomen carried by:*Marcus Terentius Varro, sometimes known as Varro Reatinus, the scholar*Publius Terentius Varro or Varro Atacinus, the poet*Gaius Terentius Varro, the consul defeated at the battle of Cannae...
on etymology and Roman religion. He similarly makes use of much Roman history writing, which must include lost historical poetry as well as the annal tradition (Ovid says in the prologue that one of his sources are ancient annals (annalibus...priscis (1.7)). In his longer narrative sections, Ovid makes use of tragedy, epic poetry, elegy, and Hellenistic mythological poems. For some episodes, the sources Ovid used are untraceable. On the Roman side, Ovid particularly focuses on and employs Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
's Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
and Eclogues, most notably in the long section on Anna in Book 3. As in the Metamorphoses, Ovid's use of Virgil is multifaceted; he often prefers to invert or abbreviate Virgil's episodes. Ovid will regularly deliberately pass over material covered in the Aeneid and expand a small section or a neglected episode into an elaborate narrative.
Contents
The poem is an extensive treatment on the Roman calendarRoman calendar
The Roman calendar changed its form several times in the time between the founding of Rome and the fall of the Roman Empire. This article generally discusses the early Roman or pre-Julian calendars...
or fasti
Fasti
In ancient Rome, the fasti were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events...
. Each of its separate books discusses one month of the Roman calendar, beginning with January. It contains some brief astronomical
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
notes, but its more significant portions discuss the religious festivals of the Roman religion
Religion in ancient Rome
Religion in ancient Rome encompassed the religious beliefs and cult practices regarded by the Romans as indigenous and central to their identity as a people, as well as the various and many cults imported from other peoples brought under Roman rule. Romans thus offered cult to innumerable deities...
, the rites performed upon them, and their mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
explanations. These explanations preserve much mythological and religious lore that would have otherwise been lost.
January (Book 1)
The first book opens with a prologue which contains a dedication (1-62) of the poem to GermanicusGermanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...
, Ovid's recusatio
Recusatio
A recusatio is a poem in which the poet claims he is supposedly unable or disinclined to write the type of poem which he originally intended to, and instead writes in a different style....
, and a description of the poem's theme as the Roman calendar, festivals, and annual astronomical events, followed by a discussion of Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
' and Numa
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. What tales are descended to us about him come from Valerius Antias, an author from the early part of the 1st century BC known through limited mentions of later authors , Dionysius of Halicarnassus circa 60BC-...
's invention of the Roman calendar. The first episode (63-294) is an interview between the poet and the god Janus
Janus
-General:*Janus , the two-faced Roman god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings*Janus , a moon of Saturn*Janus Patera, a shallow volcanic crater on Io, a moon of Jupiter...
about the details of his nature as primal creator (Chaos
Chaos (cosmogony)
Chaos refers to the formless or void state preceding the creation of the universe or cosmos in the Greek creation myths, more specifically the initial "gap" created by the original separation of heaven and earth....
), history, iconography, and festival on the Kalends of January. The second long episode (317-456) describes the Agonalia
Agonalia
In Ancient Roman religious tradition, Agonalia, or Agonia, was a festival celebrated several times a year, in honor of various divinities, such as Janus and Agonius, whom the Romans used to invoke upon their undertaking any business of importance...
, the aetiologies of sacrificial animals, the story of Aristaeus
Aristaeus
A minor god in Greek mythology, which we read largely through Athenian writers, Aristaeus or Aristaios , "ever close follower of the flocks", was the culture hero credited with the discovery of many useful arts, including bee-keeping; he was the son of Apollo and the huntress Cyrene...
, and the story of Lotis and Priapus
Priapus
In Greek mythology, Priapus or Priapos , was a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his absurdly oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism...
. The third episode (461-636) for the Carmentalia
Carmentalia
Carmentalia was the feast day of the Roman goddess Carmenta, an ancient oracle who later was deified by the Romans. She had her temple atop Capitoline Hill. Carmenta was invoked in it as Postvorta and Antevorta, epithets which had reference to her power of looking back into the past and forward...
discusses the exile of Evander to Latium, the prophecy of his mother Carmentis about Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
, Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, and Livia
Livia
Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
, and the myth of Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
and Cacus
Cacus
In Roman mythology, Cacus was a fire-breathing giant monster and the son of Vulcan.-Mythology:Cacus lived in a cave in the Palatine Hill in Italy, the future site of Rome. To the horror of nearby inhabitants, Cacus lived on human flesh and would nail the heads of victims to the doors of his cave...
, ending with the praise of the family of Augustus. The end of the book talks about the festival of Concordia
Concordia (mythology)
In Roman religion, Concord was the goddess of agreement, understanding, and marital harmony. Her Greek version is Harmonia, and the Harmonians and some Discordians equate her with Aneris. Her opposite is Discordia ....
(637-650), the movable Sementivae
Sementivae
Sementivae, also known as Feriae Sementivae or Sementina dies , was a Roman festival of sowing.It was a type of feriae conceptivae [or conceptae]...
with a prayer for agricultural productivity (655-704), and the feast of the Ara Pacis
Ara Pacis
The Ara Pacis Augustae is an altar to Peace, envisioned as a Roman goddess...
(709-724).
February (Book 2)
Ovid opens book 2 with an etymological derivation of February from februa (instruments of purification) (1-54). He continues relating several shorter narratives, including the stories of ArionArion
Arion was a kitharode in ancient Greece, a Dionysiac poet credited with inventing the dithyramb: "As a literary composition for chorus dithyramb was the creation of Arion of Corinth," The islanders of Lesbos claimed him as their native son, but Arion found a patron in Periander, tyrant of Corinth...
and the dolphin (79-118), Augustus' assumption of the title pater patriae (119-148), the myth of Callisto
Callisto (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Callisto or Kallisto was a nymph of Artemis. Transformed into a bear and set among the stars, she was the bear-mother of the Arcadians, through her son Arcas.-Origin of the myth:...
(153-192), the fall of the Fabii at the battle of Cremera
Cremera
Cremera is a 36.7 km Italian stream in Lazio which runs past Sacrofano, Formello, and Campagnano di Roma before falling into the Tiber about 10 km north of Rome...
(193-242), and the fable of the constellations of the Raven, Snake, and Crater (243-266). The next long section in the book discusses the festival of the Lupercalia
Lupercalia
Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility...
(267-474). The poet aetiologizes the nakedness of the Luperci with a story of Faunus' sexual humiliation when he tries to rape Hercules dressed as Omphale
Omphale
In Greek mythology, Omphale was a daughter of Iardanus, either a king of Lydia, or a river-god. Omphale was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor; according to Bibliotheke she was the wife of Tmolus, the oak-clad mountain king of Lydia; after he was gored to death by a bull, she continued...
and the story of Remus' defeat of cattle rustlers. The narrative of the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus is also included. Lines 475-532 describe Romulus' transformation into Quirinus
Quirinus
In Roman mythology, Quirinus was an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, Quirinus was also an epithet of Janus, as Janus Quirinus. His name is derived from Quiris meaning "spear."-History:...
, which is followed by the narrative of Lara in connection to the Feralia
Feralia
Feralia was an ancient Roman public festival celebrating the Manes which fell on the 21st of February as recorded by Ovid in Book II of his Fasti. This day marked the end of Parentalia, a nine day festival honoring the dead ancestors...
(533-616). The final extensive section describing the Regifugium
Regifugium
In the Roman religion, Regifugium or Fugalia was an annual observance that took place every February 24. In Latin, the name of the observance transparently means "flight of the king."...
describes the legends associated with the fall of the Tarquins, Lucretia
Lucretia
Lucretia is a legendary figure in the history of the Roman Republic. According to the story, told mainly by the Roman historian Livy and the Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus , her rape by the king's son and consequent suicide were the immediate cause of the revolution that overthrew the...
's rape and suicide, and Brutus
Brutus
Brutus is the cognomen of the Roman gens Junia, a prominent family of the Roman Republic. The plural of Brutus is Bruti, and the vocative form is Brute, as immortalized in the quotation "Et tu, Brute?", from Shakespeare's play, Julius Caesar....
' revenge (685-855).
March (Book 3)
The third book is dedicated by Ovid to MarsMars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, the patron of the month; in connection to the god, the poet narrates the rape of Silvia
Rhea Silvia
Rhea Silvia , and also known as Ilia, was the mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, who founded the city of Rome...
, the birth and discovery of Romulus and Remus, and ends with a discussion of March as the former first month of the year (1-166). Next, the poet interviews Mars who tells the story of the rape of the Sabine women to explain why women worship him, and of Numa's capture of Jupiter and the gift of the ritual shields, the ancilia and the introduction of the salii (167-398). Next Ovid relates two short narratives, the story of Romulus' asylum
Asylum (antiquity)
In ancient Greece the temples, altars, sacred groves, and statues of the gods generally possessed the privileges of protecting slaves, debtors, and criminals, who fled to them for refuge...
and the temple of Jupiter Veiovis (429-458) and Ariadne's complaint of unfaithfulness to Bacchus and subsequent enskyment as Ariadne's crown (459-516). A long section describes the feast of Anna Perenna
Anna Perenna
Anna Perenna was an old Roman deity of the circle or "ring" of the year, as the name clearly indicates. Her festival fell on the Ides of March , which would have marked the first full moon in the year in the old lunar Roman calendar when March was reckoned as the first month of the year, and was...
on the Ides, focusing on the story of the Vergilian Anna's escape from Carthage and journey to Italy where she becomes the river Numicius, the legend of Anna's deceit of Mars when he attempted to woo Minerva, and ending with a note on the murder of Caesar (523-710). The end of the month includes the legends of Bacchus' discovery of honey for the Liberalia
Liberalia
The Liberalia is the festival of Liber Pater and his consort Libera. The Romans celebrated Liberalia with sacrifices, processions, ribald and gauche songs, and masks which were hung on trees....
(713-808), a prayer to Minerva for the Quinquatrus (809-848), and the story of Phrixus
Phrixus
In Greek mythology, Phrixus or Frixos or Phryxus was the son of Athamas, king of Boiotia, and Nephele . His twin sister Helle and he were hated by their stepmother, Ino. Ino hatched a devious plot to get rid of the twins, roasting all of Boeotia's crop seeds so they would not grow. The local...
and Helle
Helle
Helle may refer to:* Helle , a figure in Greek mythology* Helle, a village near Nuth, Netherlands* Helle, a village near Gulpen, Netherlands* Helle, a village in Norway, in Vaksdal municipality...
for the Tubilustrium
Tubilustrium
In Ancient Rome the month of March was the traditional start of the campaign season, and the Tubilustrium was a ceremony to make the army fit for war. The ceremony involved sacred trumpets called tubae....
(849-878).
April (Book 4)
April begins with the appearance of Venus, who chides Ovid for his abandonment of erotic elegy; Ovid goes on to trace the genealogy of the Roman kings and Augustus from Venus and ends with a celebration of Venus as the goddess of creation (1-132). The first long episode of the book is the festival of the Magna Mater, the Ludi Megalenses. For this festival Ovid recounts the birth of RheaRhea (mythology)
Rhea was the Titaness daughter of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth, in Greek mythology. She was known as "the mother of gods". In earlier traditions, she was strongly associated with Gaia and Cybele, the Great Goddess, and was later seen by the classical Greeks as the mother of the Olympian...
's children, the castration of Attis
Attis
Attis was the consort of Cybele in Phrygian and Greek mythology. His priests were eunuchs, as explained by origin myths pertaining to Attis and castration...
, the goddess' transfer to Rome, and the story of Claudia Quinta
Claudia Quinta
Claudia Quinta was a Roman matron of legendary fame during the time of the Second Punic War when Scipio Africanus and Publius Sempronius were consuls....
(179-375). The next narrative, which is the longest and most elaborate in the Fasti describes the Cerialia and the rape of Persephone, the wandering of Ceres, and the return of Persephone to Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
(393-620). The next extended section is regarding the festival of the Parilia
Parilia
thumb|250px|Festa di Pales, o L'estate , a reimagining of the Festival of Pales by [[Joseph-Benoît Suvée]]In ancient Roman religion, the Parilia is an agricultural festival performed annually on April 21, aimed at cleansing both sheep and shepherd. It is carried out in acknowledgment to the Roman...
which includes agricultural prayers, aetiologies of customs, and the story of the founding augury and death of Remus (721-862). The final sections tell the story of Mezentius
Mezentius
In Roman mythology, Mezentius was an Etruscan king, and father of Lausus. Sent into exile because of his cruelty, he moved to Latium. He reveled in bloodshed and was overwhelmingly savage on the battlefield, but more significantly to a Roman audience he was a contemptor divum, a "despiser of the...
in conncetion to the Vinalia
Vinalia
The Vinalia were Roman festivals of the annual vintage, in honour of Jupiter and Venus. The first was held on August 19, and the second on May 1...
(863-900) and include an agricultural prayer on the Robigalia
Robigalia
In ancient Roman religion, the Robigalia was a festival held April 25. Its main ritual was a dog sacrifice to protect grain fields from disease. Games in the form of "major and minor" races were held...
(901-942).
May (Book 5)
This book opens with the presentation by the Muses of three etymologies for the name of the month: the goddess Maiestas, the Roman elders (maiores), and MaiaMaia (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Maia is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes. The goddess known as Maia among the Romans may have originated independently, but attracted the myths of Greek Maia because the two figures shared the same name.-Birth:...
the mother of Mercury
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...
(1-110). Ovid is unable to decide on a correct etymology. In the next section the goddess Flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
appears and discusses her origin, her help in Juno's conceiving of a child, and the political origin of her games (159-378). The next notable narrative discusses the rituals of the Lemuria and the funeral of Remus (419-490). The birth of Orion from the urine (ouron) of the gods comes next (493-544). This is followed by the origin of the Temple of Mars Ultor (545-598), the end of human sacrifice at Rome (603-662), the worship of Mercury (663-692), and the death of Castor
Castor and Pollux
In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux or Polydeuces were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri . Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, who visited Leda in the guise of a swan...
and Pollux
Castor and Pollux
In Greek and Roman mythology, Castor and Pollux or Polydeuces were twin brothers, together known as the Dioscuri . Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, who visited Leda in the guise of a swan...
(693-720).
June (Book 6)
The sixth book begins with a prologue in which the goddesses Juno and Juventas (HebeHebe (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Hēbē is the goddess of youth . She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles ; her successor was the young Trojan prince Ganymede...
) dispute over which goddess the month is named after (1-100). Ovid goes on to relate the story of the affair of Carna, the goddess of hinges, and Janus as well as the story of how Proca was defended from murderous owls by Cranae (101-195). The next large narrative is the discussion of iconography and aetiology of the Vestalia, the festival of Vesta. The cosmic identification of Vesta with the earth, the story of Priapus' attempted rape, the origin of the altar of Jupiter Pistoris (of the bakers) in the Gallic invasion of Rome, and the rescue of the Palladium
Palladium
Palladium is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pd and an atomic number of 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself named after the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, acquired...
by Metellus in a fire at the temple are recounted (249-468). A short astronomical notice precedes the long discussion of the Matralia in which Ovid explains the origin of the cult of Mater Matuta
Mater Matuta
Mater Matuta was an indigenous Roman goddess, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn goddess Aurora, and the Greek goddess Eos. Mater Matuta had a temple on the Forum Boarium, and she was also associated with the sea harbors and ports, where there were other temples to her.Her...
who as Ino
Ino (Greek mythology)
In Greek mythology Ino was a mortal queen of Thebes, who after her death and transfiguration was worshiped as a goddess under her epithet Leucothea, the "white goddess." Alcman called her "Queen of the Sea" , which, if not hyperbole, would make her a doublet of Amphitrite.In her mortal self, Ino,...
journeyed to Italy and was made a goddess (473-569). This is followed by the story of the murder of King Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of ancient Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 578-535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC...
, a lover of Mater Matuta. The Lesser Quinquatrus' legend follows about the exile and return of Roman flute players (649-710). The final notable episodes of the poem are the punishment of Aesculapius (733-762) and the praise of Marcia by Clio (797-812).
Politics and the Fasti
One of the chief concerns that has occupied readers of the Fasti is its political message and its relationship with the Augustan household. The poem contains a great deal of material on Augustus, his relatives, and the imperial cult, as signalled in the preface by his address to Germanicus that explains that he will find "festivals pertaining to your house; often the names of your father and grandfather will meet you on the page." (1.9-10)A current trend in Fasti scholarship has been towards a subversive and cynical reading of Ovid's voice in the poem. Carole Newlands has read the poem as particularly subversive of the regime and imperial propaganda; she believes that several passages point to the problem of curtailed free speech and artistic freedom under the empire without an influential patron to protect artists. She points out that Ovid seems to use divine interlocutors and especially divine disagreements to avoid authority and responsibility for the poem's statements, that there is an inherent and destabilizing tension with the presence of traditional Roman matronae in an elegiac poem (an erotic genre and meter), and that Ovid often uses astronomical notices and undermining narrative juxtapositions as a way of subverting seemingly encomiastic episodes.
Earlier scholars posited that the imperial festivals are actually the central focus of the poem embedded in an elaborated frame of charming stories, which serve to draw attention to the "serious" imperial narratives, a concept which Herbert-Brown argues against, while taking a less subversifying position than Newlands. Brown argues that Ovid's main consideration is versifying the calendar; although some sections may be subversive, Brown believes that for the most part Ovid's poem harmonizes with imperial ideology in an attempt to gain favor with the imperial household from exile. Seemingly problematic passages reflect mythological ambiguities that Ovid is playing with rather than subversion of the imperial family, and his burlesque treatments of religion are part of an established Roman attitude. An architectural framework is posited by Brown, who feels that the poem is structured around the great, contemporary architectural monuments of Rome.
The Poetics of the Fasti
Other readers have chosen to focus on the poetics of the Fasti rather than political themes. Murgatroyd's work has particularly focused on the cinematic style of Ovid's work, which he shows employs elaborate and often highly subtle devices to create a vivid picture within a confined narrative. Murgatroyd particularly looks at Ovid's relationships with other authors, notably Livy (from whom Ovid is at pains to distinguish his poetic rather than historical enterprise) and Virgil, and traces how Ovid uses their narratives to construct his own identity in relation to his predecessors in a spirit of friendly competition. He has also traced the progression of Ovid's narrator through the divine interviews from a seemigly naive and somewhat overwhelmed poet to a full fledged vates who ends up in command of the narrative process.External links
- English translation by A. S. KlineA. S. KlineA. S. Kline, known as Tony Kline is a British poet and translator, living in England.He graduated with a degree in Mathematics from the University of Manchester, and was Chief Information Officer of a large UK Company before dedicating himself to his literary work and interests...
(2004) - French translation with notes by Anne-Marie Boxus and Jacques Poucet (2004)
- Project Gutenburg— Latin Edition