Odes and Epodes
by Horace · Carmina et Epodi
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 30-13 BCE
- Era
- Roman Empire
- Form
- Lyric poetry
- Language
- Latin
- Length
- Medium · 260 pp120 to 300 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Complete Odes and Epodes, translated by David WestOxford University Press (Oxford World's Classics), 2008Accurate prose-like verse with brief notes to each poem; the Loeb, with Latin facing, is the alternative.
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The seventeen Epodes, iambic poems of invective and politics from the years around Actium, and the four books of Odes, 103 lyric poems in Greek metres published in 23 and 13 BCE. The Odes turn from the civil wars and the praise of Augustus to friendship, wine, the countryside, the passing of the seasons and the shortness of life, and include the poem that coined carpe diem and the claim that the poet has built a monument more lasting than bronze. They are the model for lyric poetry in Europe for the next eighteen centuries.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Odes and Epodes are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
