Odes (Horace)
Four books of Latin lyric poems by Horace, emulated for their form and style.
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Horace's *Odes*, also known as the *Carmina*, are a set of Latin lyric poems divided into four books. The form and style of the Horatian ode have been copied by later poets. The first three books came out in 23 BC, and a fourth book of fifteen poems followed in 13 BC. Horace deliberately modeled these poems on the short lyric poetry of Greek writers such as Pindar, Sappho, and Alcaeus. His particular skill was adapting those older forms to reflect the social life of Rome during Augustus's reign. The odes address a wide variety of topics: love, friendship, wine, religion, morality, patriotism, praise for Augustus and his family, and miscellaneous subjects like life's uncertainty, the pursuit of calm and contentment, and the value of moderation—the "golden mean."
English-speaking scholars have traditionally treated the *Odes* as purely literary works. However, recent research by a Horatian scholar suggests they might have been intended as performance pieces—a Latin version of Greek lyric song. The Roman writer Petronius, less than a century after Horace's death, noted the *curiosa felicitas* (studied spontaneity) of the odes in his *Satyricon*. The English poet Alfred Tennyson described the odes as containing "jewels five-words long, that on the stretched forefinger of all Time / Sparkle for ever."
The four books contain 103 poems total (104 if the *Carmen Saeculare* is counted). Their lengths vary. Book 1 has 876 lines across 38 poems; Book 2 has 572 lines across 20 poems; Book 3 has 1004 lines across 30 poems; and Book 4 has 582 lines across 15 poems. The *Carmen Saeculare* is 76 lines long. Individual odes range from 8 to 80 lines, averaging about 30 lines.
Book 1 contains 38 poems. The first nine each use a different meter, with a tenth meter appearing in poem 1.11. Scholars suggest that poems 1.12 through 1.18 form a second sequence, this time alluding to or imitating various Greek lyric poets: Pindar in 1.12, Sappho in 1.13, Alcaeus in 1.14, Bacchylides in 1.15, Stesichorus in 1.16, Anacreon in 1.17, and Alcaeus again in 1.18. This book includes many well-known phrases, such as *nunc est bibendum* (1.37.1), *carpe diem* (1.11.8), and *nil desperandum* (1.7.27).
The poems can be summarized as follows:
I.1, *Maecenas atavis edite regibus...* – Dedication of the first three books to Maecenas (Horace's patron). Every person is driven by a ruling passion
- field
- Poetry
- nationality
- Roman
- known_for
- The Odes (Carmina), a collection of Latin lyric poems
- total_poems
- 103 (104 if Carmen Saeculare is included)
- publication_dates
- Books 1–3 in 23 BC; Book 4 in 13 BC
Lore & Background
The Odes cover a range of subjects – love; friendship; wine; religion; morality; patriotism; poems of eulogy addressed to Augustus and his relations; and verses written on a miscellany of subjects and incidents, including the uncertainty of life, the cultivation of tranquility and contentment, and the observance of moderation or the 'golden mean.' The opening sequence of nine poems in Book 1 are all in a different metre, with a tenth metre appearing in 1.11. It has been suggested that poems 1.12–1.18 form a second parade of allusions to or imitations of a variety of Greek lyric poets: Pindar in 1.12, Sappho in 1.13, Alcaeus in 1.14, Bacchylides in 1.15, Stesichorus in 1.16, Anacreon in 1.17, and Alcaeus again in 1.18.
Reader's Guide
The Odes have been considered traditionally by English-speaking scholars as purely literary works. Recent evidence by a Horatian scholar suggests they may have been intended as performance art, a Latin re-interpretation of Greek lyric song. The Roman writer Petronius, writing less than a century after Horace's death, remarked on the curiosa felicitas (studied spontaneity) of the Odes (Satyricon 118). The English poet Alfred Tennyson declared that the Odes provided 'jewels five-words long, that on the stretched forefinger of all Time / Sparkle for ever' (The Princess, part II, l.355). The four books of odes contain 103 poems in total (104 if the Carmen Saeculare is included). They are not all of equal length. Books 1, 2, 3, and 4 have 876 lines, 572 lines, 1004 lines, and 582 lines respectively. The odes range from 8 lines to 80 lines in length, the average being about 30 lines.
Did You Know?
- The Odes contain the famous phrase 'carpe diem' (1.11.8).
- Book 1 includes a sequence of nine poems each in a different metre.
- The Roman writer Petronius described the Odes as having 'curiosa felicitas' (studied spontaneity).
- The Odes were developed as a conscious imitation of Greek lyric poets including Pindar, Sappho, and Alcaeus.
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