Ovid's "Fasti"

Résumé du livre

This thesis examines the eroticization of historical and political narratives from Ovid's Fasti, particularly the capture of Gabii (2.687-710), the rape of Lucretia (2.721-852) and the Aristaeus narrative (1.363-390). I argue that Ovid's eroticization of these narratives is a response to the political pressure to write poetry in support of Augustan ideology. These narratives about military conquests and moments of great political change are imbued with epic themes and Augustan ideology. Yet, Ovid transports these narratives into elegy, which is a genre that defines itself as distinct from imperial and public domain. Ovid's asserts poetic autonomy by re-envisioning historical narratives and political ideology in a manner suitable to his elegiac concerns. His version of history does not reflect Augustan ideology and, at times, is starkly opposed to it. I argue that Ovid's re-imagining of these narratives asserts the freedom of the poet as an autonomous storyteller.