Sextus Propertius

Philip Purchase (Washington University St. Louis)

Ed. by Thomas Habinek, University of Southern California, William John Dominik, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Dates

Born c. -50
Died c. -16
Activity c. -30-c. -16

Places

Born in Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire)
Active in Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire)

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Propertius' Works

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Sextus Propertius is a Roman elegiac poet, who combines seductive evocation of a life devoted to love with self-conscious evaluation of the aesthetic, poetic and political effects of such devotion. He is writing in the tradition of Roman love poetry that includes Gallus (whose works have been lost), Tibullus and Ovid. (The text of Propertius that I translate here is that of the Oxford Classical Text edited by E.A. Barber, 1960.) The two strains combine to enact a virtual sourcebook of romantic obsession. While love is not his exclusive focus, the mistress he names Cynthia stands at the center of his passion over the first three books, and remains an insistent presence even beyond death in the fourth. (The standard division of Propertius’ poetry is into four books, although some editors…

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3136 words

Citation: Purchase, Philip. "Sextus Propertius". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 November 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3651, accessed 22 November 2024.]