Epics of Rome

Dr Rhiannon Evans

This subject explores Ancient Roman epic poetry, the literary genre which deals with grand mythical narratives involving heroes, gods, war, and love affairs.

Epic was the most prestigious literary form in the ancient world. Roman poets adapted and developed Greek epic, particularly influenced by the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey. Roman epics similarly deal with divine and heroic material, but Roman poets also weave contemporary and topical themes into the mythical subject matter.

The primary text for this subject is Ovid's Metamorphoses, which tells many comic tales of the gods in love and encounters between heroes and monsters through a series of transformations.

Epics which influenced Ovid will also be studied, such as the Greek epics of Homer, the early Roman epics of Naevius and Ennius, and Virgil's Aeneid, which was the most significant influence on Ovid. We shall also consider Ovid as a major influence upon Western artists and writers, from Shakespeare to David Malouf.

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23 episodes
Updated May 27, 2014

Episodes23

Newest first

May 27, 2014 · 44 min
Afterlife II: The Novel
The Aeneid and Metamorphoses have continued to be rediscovered and reinterpreted throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
May 27, 2014
Afterlife II: The Novel (handout)
The Aeneid and Metamorphoses have continued to be rediscovered and reinterpreted throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
May 21, 2014 · 38 min
Afterlife I: Late Latin and Renaissance
Virgil and Ovid were both incredibly influential upon later poetry and culture, and in this lecture we look at some of the texts which look back to their epics in the late antique period through to the Renaissance.
May 21, 2014
Afterlife I: Late Latin and Renaissance (handout)
Virgil and Ovid were both incredibly influential upon later poetry and culture, and in this lecture we look at some of the texts which look back to their epics in the late antique period through to the Renaissance.
May 14, 2014 · 50 min
'I shall live': Immortality
Ovid ends his work with a series of deifications: Julius Caesar becomes a god; Augustus will become a god. This most allusive and transformative of texts apparently ends with a pat celebration of the Julian family.
May 14, 2014
'I shall live': Immortality (handout)
Ovid ends his work with a series of deifications: Julius Caesar becomes a god; Augustus will become a god. This most allusive and transformative of texts apparently ends with a pat celebration of the Julian family.
May 7, 2014 · 53 min
Aeneid again? Troy and Rome
In books 11-14 of the Metamorphoses Ovid takes on the stories of Troy's fall and Rome's origin - have we finally reached the point of 'real epic'?
May 7, 2014
Aeneid again? Troy and Rome (handout)
In books 11-14 of the Metamorphoses Ovid takes on the stories of Troy's fall and Rome's origin - have we finally reached the point of 'real epic'?
May 2, 2014 · 45 min
Art and Song: Orpheus and Pygmalion
This lecture focusses on the two most prominent lovers in Metamorphoses 9-11, Orpheus and Pygmalion.
Apr 15, 2014 · 51 min
Changing Nature: Genre in the Metamorphoses
It is often said that Ovid's is a 'Callimachean epic', in other words an episodic and aetiological poem which eschews big scale narratives.
Apr 15, 2014
Changing Nature: Genre in the Metamorphoses (handout)
It is often said that Ovid's is a 'Callimachean epic', in other words an episodic and aetiological poem which eschews big scale narratives.
Apr 10, 2014 · 1 hr
Gods and Mortals: Vengeance
Epic poetry often features a hostile and punitive god, who forms a barrier to the hero’s journey, but the Metamorphoses takes the theme of vengeful gods to the extreme, as the divinities are paraded as cruel and petty.
Apr 10, 2014
Gods and Mortals: Vengeance (handout)
Epic poetry often features a hostile and punitive god, who forms a barrier to the hero’s journey, but the Metamorphoses takes the theme of vengeful gods to the extreme, as the divinities are paraded as cruel and petty.
Apr 1, 2014 · 46 min
Ovid Metamorphoses: Gods and Nymphs
On the surface Ovid’s Metamorphoses appears to question traditional gender norms, in particular those held about elite Roman men.
Apr 1, 2014
Ovid Metamorphoses: Gods and Nymphs (handout)
On the surface Ovid’s Metamorphoses appears to question traditional gender norms, in particular those held about elite Roman men.
Mar 25, 2014 · 48 min
Introducing Ovid’s Metamorphoses
When Virgil died in 19 BCE, the Aeneid became an instant classic, and even before his death references had been made to it in the works of other authors.
Mar 25, 2014
Introducing Ovid’s Metamorphoses (handout)
When Virgil died in 19 BCE, the Aeneid became an instant classic, and even before his death references had been made to it in the works of other authors.
Mar 19, 2014 · 47 min
Virgil’s Iliad? Epic Intertextuality
Virgil was undoubtedly very well-read: he had a deep knowledge of the epics of Homer and Ennius, as well as a myriad of other Greek and Roman poets.
Mar 19, 2014
Virgil’s Iliad? Epic Intertextuality (handout)
Virgil was undoubtedly very well-read: he had a deep knowledge of the epics of Homer and Ennius, as well as a myriad of other Greek and Roman poets.
Mar 12, 2014 · 47 min
Epic and Augustus: Poetry and Politics
Virgil’s Aeneid is the first complete Latin epic which remains to us, and it is arguably the most important literary work we have from ancient Rome.