The Golden Age of Latin Literature spanned from the time of Cicero to the death of Augustus. The Golden Age is divided into two periods: Ciceronian and Augustan. Writers of the Ciceronian period included Cicero (its namesake), Julius Caesar, and Catullus. Writers of the Augustan period included Livy, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid. Livy's History of Rome remains the most authoritative work on the earliest history of Rome. Virgil and Horace were both supported by Augustus, as these writers were very supportive of him in appreciation for his patronage. Ovid, whose poetry did not align as well with Augustus' civic goals, found himself exiled to Tomis on the Black Sea, where he spent the last decade of his life in sorrow.

1. Golden
Age
of Latin
LiteraturePhoto byA. HunterWright

2. TWO PERIODS
Ciceronian
(Late Republic)
80 - 43 BC
Augustan
(Early Empire)
27 BC – AD 14

3. Cicero106-43 BC
MarcusTullius
Great Roman orator,
politician, and master
of Latin prose

4. Speeches
Letters
Philosophy
PoliticalTheory

5. Cicero106-43 BC
MarcusTullius
Cicero has more extant
works than any other
Roman author.

6. “The influence of Cicero
upon the history of
European literature and
ideas greatly exceeds
that of any other prose
writer in any language.”
-- Michael Grant

7. Notable writers
• History
• Julius Caesar
• Sallust
• Poetry
• Catullus
• Lucretius
• Scholarship
• MarcusTerentiusVarro Photo by
Gautier
Poupeau
of the Ciceronian Period

8. Augustan Period
Livy
Virgil
Horace
Ovid
27 BC –AD 14

9. Livy
Livy’s History of Rome was a
comprehensive history of
the Roman people from
the earliest legends all the
way to Livy’s own time.
c. 60 BC – 17 AD

10. MORALIST
Livy believed that luxury
had corrupted the Romans
and that Romans could
benefit from emulating
their heroic (and less
wealthy) ancestors.

11. “I hope my passion for Rome’s past has
not impaired my judgment;for I do
honestly believe that no country has
ever been greater or purer than
ours or richer in good citizens and
noble deeds;none has been free for so
many centuries from the vices of avarice
and luxury;nowhere have thrift and
plain living been for so long held in
such esteem.”

12. Photo byA. HunterWright
Virgil
Major PoeticWorks:
Georgics
Eclogues
Aeneid

13. Georgics and Eclogues
Virgil’s Georgics and
Eclogues emphasized
agricultural themes
and tensions in
Roman society.
Painting by Hubertine Heijermans

14. ROME’S NATIONAL EPIC
Drawing on Homer’s
work,Virgil’s Aeneid is
a patriotic national
epic glorifying Rome’s
mythological origins.
Federico Barocci, Aeneas Flees BurningTroy (1598)

15. The Wanderings of
Aeneas (Books I-VI)
The first half of
the Aeneid is
modeled after
Homer’s Odyssey.
Map by Rcsprinter123

16. The second half of the
Aeneid is a bloodbath
reminiscent of
Homer’s Iliad.
The struggle FOR
SURVIVAL (Books vii-xii)
Luca Giordano, Aeneas andTurnus (17th c.)

17. Luca Giordano, Aeneas andTurnus (17th c.)
WHO NEEDS FALLING ACTION?

18. Luca Giordano, Aeneas andTurnus (17th c.)
“Pallas takes the lawful
forfeit of thy guilty
blood!” He said, and
buried deep his
furious blade in the
opposer's heart.The
failing limbs sank cold
and helpless; and the
vital breath with moan
of wrath to darkness
fled away.
-- Book 12

19. Horace
Horace was the
most widely-read
lyric poet of his
day.Horace as imagined by
Giacomo Di Chirico
(19th c.)

20. Horace
His poems are
compiled in the
Odes, a four book
collection.Horace as imagined by
Giacomo Di Chirico
(19th c.)

21. MANY THEMES
The Odes feature poems
about love, friendship,
patriotism, wine, and the
greatness ofAugustus.
Horace as imagined by
Giacomo Di Chirico
(19th c.)

22. Jean-JosephTaillasson, Virgil reading the Aeneid
to Augustus and Octavia (1787)
Augustus supported
poetry and literature,
patronizing writers
whose work he found
beneficial.

23. Maecenas was a wealthy
friend ofAugustus and a
patron of Horace and
Virgil.
Maecenas
Photo by Cgheyne

24. Ovid
Ovid’s famous poetic
works include The Art of
Love and Metamorphoses.

25. Ars Amatoria
The Art of Love instructs
men on how to impress
women and maintain
romantic relationships.

26. Ars Amatoria
The third book advises
women in their
relationships with men.

27. Metamorphoses
Ovid’s Metamorphoses is one
of the best classical sources
of Greek mythology.

28. Echo and Narcissus,JohnWilliamWaterhouse (1903)

29. Echo and Narcissus,JohnWilliamWaterhouse (1903)

30. Narcissus (Daffodil)
Photo by houroumono

31. Ovid’s Metamorphoses
is the earliest source
that mentions Echo in
the story of Narcissus.

32. Photo by Balcon del Mundo
Ovid was exiled by
Augustus and spent his
last years in exile in
Tomis, on the Black Sea
in present-day Romania.

33. A Poem and
a Mistake
Photo by Balcon del Mundo