RCL Literature

• What were the main aims of satire?

  • Humour
  • Criticism
  • Education
  • Morality
• Offellus

  A farmer, probably a neighbour of Horace's father. The speaker of satire 2.2.
• Horace

  The smiling satirist
• 'All things Greek'

  The Romans believed that the Greeks were not tough at sports. The implication is that someone who did not engage in strenuous sports would not cope with Roman army training.
• Hymettus ... Falernian

  The two ingredients of mead: honey and wine
• Tiber

  The river that runs through Rome but rises in the mountains which border on Tuscany. Horace says you cannot tell where a fish was caught - by the bridges in the city, or by the coast.
• Harpies

  These were monsters from Greek mythology who were half bird and half woman. They snatched food from their victims while they were eating.
• Southernlies

  These were the winds of late autumn and summer which brought storms and destroyed crops. This limited the access to rich food, or so Horace hopes.
• Gallonius

  Known for having rich dinner parties. Criticised by name by Lucilius. First to serve the sturgeon fish, which was a luxury.
• A creative praetor

  Plancus or Rufus. Had an important government office, such as a praetor (who controlled law courts and governed some provinces). First to suggest cooking storks.
• Avidienus

  Called 'the dog' because he existed on scraps of food. A miser.
• Ceres

  The goddess of crops, popular among farmers to pray to.
• Let Fortune's wind blow

  The idea of Fortune was personified into a goddess. Fortune, like the wind, can change.
• Umbrenus

  Offellus was evicted, without compensation, after the Battle of Philippi in 42BC. Umbrenus was one of Octavian's ex-servicemen, and the farm was reassigned to him. Other famous people who lost their land were the poets Virgil and Propertius.
• Son of Maia

  Mercury. God of prosperity and favoured by those in trade.
• Hercules

  People who made gains and profits often gave a tenth of their gain to Hercules.
• Muse

  A group who gave inspiration
• Sirocco

  This was a wind which came up from Africa and brought rain. Often mixed with sand it is described as 'leaden' due to the dark skies it brought in late summer.
• Deathly Libitina

  An ancient godess of burial. Her temple was used as a place to store everything necessary for a funeral.
• Janus

  The god associated with new beginnings, especially in the New Year. As a result, we get the month of January. Shown with two faces; one looking back and the other looking forward towards the future. Here referred to as the 'Father of the Dawn'
• Mournful Esquiline

  Before Augustus, the Esquiline was a burial ground and a place to dump rubbish. For health reasons, Augustus authorised the burial pits to be covered over with soil so that the Gardens of Maecenas could be created. Became a place for the rich to live.
• Quintus

  Horace's first name.
• Can the Thracian Chicken beat Syrus?

  This is a question about Gladiators. One of the champion Thracian gladiators was called 'the Chicken'. Syrus was also a gladiator and probably a murmillo (Thracians and Murmillos were often pitched against each other). Maecenas and Horace making general chat, nothing of serious government business.
• Campus

  An area outside Rome which was originally flat marshland but was being drained and developed in Horace's time.
• Fortune's child

  Someone considered lucky. In this case, people consider Horace lucky to know Maecenas.
• Rostra

  Platforms in the Forum where orators gave speeches and news was delivered.
• Dacians

  Sided with Antony, and a war was declared against them in 30BC. They were a feared enemy and in fact it would take more than another one hundred years to reduce Dacia to a province.
• Caesar

  Augustus
• Pythagoras' Kin

  Pythagoras was a Greek mathmetician but also promised a strict way of life. He was a vegetarian but beans were forbidden. He either thought they were not good for people, or, as some scholars say, he thought that the soul of his grandma lived in them. Kin is a word to describe relatives; Horace is referring to this - probably humourously.
• Lar

  The household God
• Lepos

  He was a theatrical dancer who was admired by Augustus. The name, in Latin, means 'Charm'
• Cervius

  Probably an imaginary neighbour
• Vetch

  A climbing plant belonging to the pea family.
• Molossian Hounds

  Most Roman households had a dog. The Molossian hound was large, like a mastiff. It was often trained for battle and served in the house as a sentry or to patrol the house.
• Fundanius

  A comic poet and friend of Horace's. He attended a dinner which was in honour of Maecenas. Horace was not there
• Nasidienus Rufus

  The dinner was organised by a nouveau riche man called Nasidienus Rufus. The character is probably ficticious, as is the whole event. The dinner was supposedly held in honour of Maecenas and Maecenus' friends by this social climber. Nasidienus wants to give the impression that he is a wine expert.
• Lucanian

  From Lucania in Southern Italy
• Coan

  Coan wine was wine from Kos and was known for its saltiness. The wine was regarded as good, though most Romans with a knowledge of wine preferred wines without seawater added. Most Roman wine was thick and watered down in various ratios, though Pliny the Elder preffered his wine neat.
• Hydaspes

  This is one of Nasidienus' slaves, named after the river in India where he was born.
• Caecuban

  From the coast near Rome, regarded by Horace as one of the best wines