Augustan literature (ancient Rome)

The Augustan poet Vergil in a 3rd-century mosaic also depicting the Muses Clio and Melpomene.

Augustan literature is a period of Latin literature written during the reign of Augustus (27 BC–AD 14), the first Roman emperor.[1] In literary histories of the first part of the 20th century and earlier, Augustan literature was regarded along with that of the Late Republic as constituting the Golden Age of Latin literature, a period of stylistic classicism.[2]

Most of the literature periodized as "Augustan" was in fact written by men—Vergil, Horace, Propertius, Livy—whose careers were established during the triumviral years, before Octavian assumed the title Augustus. Strictly speaking, Ovid is the poet whose work is most thoroughly embedded in the Augustan regime.[2]

  1. ^ Julius Caesar held the office of dictator in perpetuity; technically, the constitution of the Roman Republic was still in effect during Caesar's relatively short time in power. His heir Augustus styled himself princeps, or "Leading Citizen", but is considered the first of the Imperial monarchs and reigned for more than 40 years. See Roman Emperor (Principate).
  2. ^ a b Fergus Millar, "Ovid and the Domus Augusta: Rome Seen from Tomoi," Journal of Roman Studies 83 (1993), p. 6.