The History and Literary Legacy of Roman Epic Poetry

The Origins and Evolution of Roman Epic Poetry

Roots in Oral Tradition and Greek Influence

Roman epic poetry has roots in the oral tradition of carmina (songs) that were sung at banquets. From the third century BC, Rome came into contact with Greek culture, which subsequently led to a break from the genre conventions of the traditional Greek epic.

Homer’s finest works, the Iliad and the Odyssey, served as models for the later Greek epic, establishing conventions such as:

• The use of the hexameter meter.
• The intervention of the gods.
• The catalog of ships and troops.
• Comparisons with nature (similes).

Early Roman Epic (The Archaic Period)

Livius Andronicus

The first Roman epic was the Odusia by the Greek slave Livius Andronicus. This work was essentially a translation of Homer’s Odyssey.

Gnaeus Naevius

Naevius was the first native Latin author of epic poetry. His work, Bellum Poenicum (The Punic War), focused on the recent history of Rome and the victory against the Carthaginians. It was written in the Saturnian meter, using an archaic and somewhat clumsy Latin style.

Quintus Ennius

Ennius, still writing within the Archaic period, composed the Annales. He introduced the Greek hexameter to Latin poetry, composing a work of very Greek taste and notable artistic quality. This established the hexameter as the standard meter for subsequent Roman epic poetry.

The Classical Period: Virgil's Masterpiece

Virgil's Aeneid

Virgil’s Aeneid instantly became a seminal work and a model for the rest of the epic tradition. It is divided into 12 books (or songs):

• The first six books imitate the structure and themes of the Odyssey.
• The last six books recount Aeneas sustaining war on Latin soil, providing a high-level replica of one of the most popular episodes of the Iliad.

The Aeneid is profoundly Roman, full of sensitivity, and stands as a model of poise and classic beauty.

Post-Classical Developments and Divergence

Ovid's Metamorphoses

Ovid, younger than Virgil, authored the Metamorphoses. Intended to be anti-classical, some scholars do not consider it a proper epic. This book recounts the metamorphosis of various historical and mythological beings. While technically perfect, its subjects are treated with levity, and the gods do not possess the majesty found in Virgil’s work.

Lucan's Pharsalia

Lucan, Seneca’s nephew, wrote the Pharsalia (or Bellum Civile) in the 1st century AD. Lucan deliberately broke with several epic conventions:

• The subject matter is the recent civil war between Caesar and Pompey, rather than mythological history.
• The traditional intervention of the gods is replaced by a more or less scientific rationalism and Stoic philosophy.

These choices lead many to consider Lucan more of a historian than a poet. His style features direct address to the reader, a baroque sensibility, and the use of expressive resources typical of oratory. This work is considered Post-Classical. Lucan was disliked by Emperor Nero and was subsequently forced to commit suicide while still a young man.

Later Classicism and the Return to Virgil

Following the Post-Classical period, there was a return to the classicism of Virgil. The Aeneid served as a model for later authors such as Valerius Flaccus, Statius, and others.