propertius 3.12 chaste and faithful galla

• written in 20 BC
• a poem that explores military absence and wifely devotion
• reprimands ‘Postumus’ for neglecting his devoted wife in favour of the spoils of war
• Postumus - name given to a son born whilst his father is dead
• “Araxes’ water” - water in Armenia, placing him in the campaign in Parthia
• Medes - Median people, part of the Parthian empire
• Ulysses - Odysseus
• ‘Cicones’, ‘Polyphemos’, ‘Circe’, ‘Scylla’, ‘Charybdis’, ‘Lampetie’, ‘Calypso’, ‘Sirens’ – all references to characters and events in Homer’s Odyssey, and thus the challenges and temptations (and slow journey) that kept Odysseus apart from Penelope
• Calpe - entrance to the underworld
• Galla is loyal

  • "faithful wife"
  • "gifts" do not sway her; she does not give in to Rome's "voluptousness"
  • Postumus can "rest secure"
  • She is not deserving of a man with such "morals" as Postumous
  • "Wifely wonder" like Penelope
  • Shown as better than Penelope - "will outdo Penelope's loyalty
• The pitfalls of war / war as futile

  • “May all you greedy ones perish” - a criticism of soldiers who pursue greed and geras in war
  • Those who prefer “his weapons to a faithful bride” should perish
  • “Madman” to refer to a soldier
  • Absence of a paterfamilias -> “what shall a girl do with no fear to guard her, with Rome to instruct her in voluptuousness”
  • “Postumus will be another Ulysses” - recounts Odysseus’ treacherous "wanderings" and preents Augustus' campaigns as similarily futile e.g. "Polyphemus"