The two faces of Apollo : Propertius and the poetry of politics

Abstract

In the Ancient World the god Apollo has traditionally been associated with poets and their art and in the Augustan age, the Golden Age of Roman literature, use of the image of Apollo is important for the understanding of the poetry. For Propertius the image of Apollo was, to a large extent, associated with two important aspects of his world: As god of poetry Apollo was associated with a refined and polished style of poetry following the tenets laid down by the Alexandrian poet Callimachus. Apollo was also associated with Octavian, who regarded the god as his patron deity. Examining Propertius’ poetry by looking at how he employed these two aspects of the god gives fresh insights into both Augustan literature and Roman culture of the period. The use of the image of Apollo by Propertius increases as the poet’s voice develops through his career and he gives more social commentary. The poet frequently defines his poetic position through the image of the Callimachean Apollo and through the comparison of his Callimachean Apollo with that of Vergil. Propertius’ social commentary on the horrors of civil war is expressed through a description of the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine and the artworks in it that display Apollo’s warlike aspects. The rejection of Vergil’s warlike Actian Apollo in 2.34 and embrace of the Callimachean Apollo in 3.1-5, allows him to comment on the warmongering culture among the ruling elite in Rome and define himself in opposition to them. Finally, the two faces of Apollo serve in poem 4.6 as an image through which Propertius can reconcile the worlds of the Roman general and the poet.