Not offered 2007-2008
CLLA 403 The Invention of Love: Catullus and the Roman Elegists
This course will explore the development of Latin love poetry in the first century BCE. Beginning with Catullus, we will examine the influence of Greek lyric poetry on the evolution of the genre as well as Roman attitudes toward love exhibited in other literature of the Late
Republic. We will then turn to the full development of the elegiac form in the love poems of
Propertius, Tibullus, and Sulpicia. Finally, we will explore the transformation of the genre in
Ovid's Amores. The goal throughout is to investigate the conventions, innovations, and
problems of expressing personal desire and longing amid the social and political upheaval of
the transition from Republic to Principate.
Format: recitation/discussion. Evaluation will be based on class participation, a midterm
exam, a final paper, and a final exam.
Prerequisites: Latin 302 or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limit: 12 (expected:
10-12). Preference given to Classics majors.
DEKEL