horace odes 4.4 drusus and the claudians

• Celebrates campaigns in the Alps and Germany (in the Rhine) in 15-14 BC
• Describes Drusus' military exploits against the Vindelici, comparing him to an eagle of Jupiter and a lion cub. Goes on describe the victories of his biological line (Neros) and how good birth has influenced Drusus and Tiberius but they have been cultivated by Augustus. Ends with a speech by Hannibal about the greatness of Rome against threat
• “Like the winged agent of the bright-lightning bolt” - describing the eagle, the bird of Jupiter thought of as his messenger
• “Ganymede” - A young Trojan boy Jupiter fell in love with, amd he sent an eagle to snatch him up, and he became a god and the cupbearer to the gods
• • Vindelici - Celtic clan that Drusus was fighting to take over their land on the Alps
• "Rhaetian Alps” – a mountain range in South Germany
• “Amazonian battle-axes” - references to the Amazons, a powerful symbol of the ‘other’, emphasising their barbarity. -

  Battle axes were also a symbol of ‘barbarity’ as women who do violence to men use a double-head battle-axe + battle-axes were not used by Roman army
• “The Neros” - family of Drusus and Tiberius
• “Sire” - word for a father
• “The Metaurus’ river’s a witness” - reference to the 207 BC Battle of Metaurus River in the 2nd Punic War, where Drusus and Tiberius’ ancestor Gaius Claudius Nero killed Hannibal’s brother Hasdrubal
• Hasdrubal - Carthaginian general, brother of Hannibal who got killed by Gaius Claudius Nero
• “The shadows” - the Cartheginians
• Hannibal - Carthaginian general from the 2nd Punic War
• “East wind on Sicilian seas” - Carthage is not to the East of Italy
• “Ravening wolves” - reference to the beginning of Rome
• Mount Algidus - in the area of Alba Longa, founded by Iulus and birthplace for Romulus and Remus
• Hydra - a beast, part of Hercules’ labours, who had a head grow back after it had been cut off
• “Any greater monster reared by Colchis” - could be the fire breathing bulls/ army of skeleton warriors/dragon protecting the golden fleece
• “Echionian Thebes” - Mythical creature with the head of a woman, haunches of a lion and the wings of a bird which guarded Thebes. It asked for the answer to a riddle for entry and killed and ate those who could not answer. It was conquered by Oedipus, who solved the riddle making the sphinx kill itself
• Importance of education and nurturing from a father figure

  • The eagle becomes powerful through this mission, perhaps as Drusus does
  • “Teaching him, then unaccustomed effort: now with a fierce, hostile assault, sweeping down on the sheepfold”
  • The lion cub with “inexperienced jaws” is allowed to kill a “roe deer” under the watchful eye of its “tawny mother” - inexperienced figure rising to the occasion under the watchful eye of a more experienced one
• Importance of education + nurturing from a father figure

  • “Education improved inborn qualities”
  • Drusus’ “strategies” only come to fruition because he grew up in a “fortunate household by Augustus’ fatherly feelings”
  • Later the poem talks of cultivated animals “horses” and “ferocious golden eagles”, perhaps saying that Augustus brings order and civility to these young men by education
  • “Proper cultivation strengthens the mind”
  • “Whenever moral behaviour falls short, its faults dishonour whatever was good at birth”
• Roman dominance 

  • Drusus’ military exploits against the Vindelici divinely sanctioned, as he is compared to an eagle, the bird of Jupiter
  • The “roe deer” is “fated to die”
  • “Hordes, triumphant everywhere, for so long”
  • Vindelici “conquered”, a decisive victory 
  • Nero “defeated Hasdrubal”
  • Romans “had their gods restored” after the temporary danger of the Cartheginians 
  • “There is nothing that Claudian power can’t achieve, protected by Jove, protected by the god’s authority”
• Roman dominance

  • Hannibal sings Rome’s praises, emphasising how supreme it is that even its enemies must admit it 
  • Romans compared to “ravening wolves”, inevitable win against its "prey"
  • Hannibal says it is a “triumph” just to be able to “flee and evade” the Romans 
  • Romans “still strong” despite the fall of Troy 
• Rome compared to things which had gone through great hardship and come out strong YET some eventually conquered by mythical heroes 

  • “Some oak...trimmed back by the double-bladed axe, draws strength and life” - reference to the axe, triumph over barbarians 
  • Reference to the Hydra, defeated by Hercules but indifferent to his chopping 
  • Reference to the “monster reared by Colchis”, the fire-breathing bulls/army of skeletons/ dragon protecting the golden fleece and defeated by Jason 
  • “Echinion Thebes” - mythical creature which guarded Thebes and was defeated by Oedipus 
• Importance of good ancestry 

  • “Sire’s virtues exist in horses and men”
  • “Ferocious golden eagles don’t produce shy doves”
  • The brothers have a good, Roman noble ancestry, with Gaius Claudius Nero who “defeated Hasdrubal”
  • This defeat seems pivotal to Rome’s overall victory as it causes Hannibal’s “every hope” to end 
  • “There is nothing that Claudian power can’t achieve, protected by Jove, protected by the god’s authority”
• Barbarians othered

  • Vindelici wield “Amazonian battle-axes”
  • Amazons a powerful symbol of the ‘other’
  • Feminises the Vindelici, othering them further by showing them as both women and foreigners who need to be conquered 
  • Double headed battle-axes weaponised by women who wish to do harm to men, feminising them further
  • Battle-axes not used by Roman army
  • Vindelici organised in “hordes” reducing the individuality of the people and dehumanising them 
  • Carthginians called “shadows”
• Danger of barbarians

  •  “Hordes, triumphant everywhere, for so long”
  • “Dread Hannibal”
  • “A fire among the pine-trees”
  • Evocative image of Italian geography being burned, acting as a symbol of barbarian threat
  • “East wind on Sicilian trees" - Carthage not to the East of Italy, so this may be symbolic of the generic danger foreign people’s pose
  • Carthaginians “destroyed” shrines, causing an “impious uproar”
• Lack of danger in military exploits

  • Simile comparing Drusus to Jupiter’s eagle seeking Ganymede - likens a very serious battle to one of Jupiter’s many amorous conquests, undermining its significance
  • Drusus is compared to a “lion cub” with “inexperienced jaws” who is able to defeat the deer which is “fated to die"
  • Vindelici compared to the Amazons - “Amazonian battle-axes" - Amazons were destined to always fall at the hands of the Greek
• Hannibal's speech undermining this victory

  • Likens the Cartheginians to “deer who become the prey of ravening wolves”
  • Reference to the Hydra in Hannibal’s speech 
  • A mythical creature made up of a woman’s face, a lion’s haunches and the wings of bird - elements from 3 similes Horace has used thus far 
  • Two out of the three were in reference to Drusus (lion and bird) perhaps an underlying criticism that there is danger in his ascendance to power
  • Also aligns him with the barbarian feminine, showing how he perhaps pursues rather fruitless wars rather than does so out of necessity
• Written in 13 BC