HORATIVS
Information by Tobius
Tullius
Gens Horatia, originally a patrician clan made famous by legendary
heros of early ancient Rome, but still the most known of the Horatii
is the poet Horace of the first century BC.
Horace, Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65-8 B.C.), the
most original lyric poet in Latin, was a son of a freedman. His father
encouraged him to study Greek and philosophy in Rome and Athens. While
in Greece Horace joined the army of Brutus, but after the Battle of
Philippa (42 BC) and returning
to Rome, he found his father dead and his property confiscated.
Poor but not defeated, he was known in literary circles, and finally,
with the financial help of Maecenas, Octavian's friend and
politicical advisor, he was able to practise his art freely and
became an outstanding poet. According to Dante, he is "second" only
to Homer and Virgil (who was another poet profiting from Maecenas'
patronage). In his poetry, Horace used only hexameter and other Greek
metres.
Horace's works include:
- Satires I and II (35 & 30 BC);
- Epodes (30 BC), attacks on social abuse;
- Odes (23 & 13 BC), four books, the first one being the one where the
popular quote "Carpe diem" comes from: "Carpe diem quam minimum
credula postero" ("seize the day, never trust the next");
- Epistulae (20-18 BC), three books, third one "Epistula ad pisones"
is better known as "Ars Poetica", which influenced such western
authors as Montaigne, Ben Johnson, Lord Chesterfield and Horace
Walpole.;
- Carmen Saeculare ie. secular hymns, written for the secular games of
17 BC.
Horatius Cocles, a mythological hero, who was
told to have defended alone a bridge against the Etruscans. Mentioned
by both Livy and Polybius, his story was retold in the 19th century
poem Horatius at The Bridge by Lord Macaulay. (detail
of a sixteenth-century fresco by Tommaso Laureti).
Other Horatii worth a mention in Roman history include consuls Marcus
Horatius Pulvillus (509 and 507 BC), C. Horatius Pulvillus, (477 and
457 BC), Marcus Horatius Barbatus (449 BC) and consular tribunes L.
Horatius Barbatus (425 BC), L. Horatius Pulvillius (386 BC) and M.
Horatius, (378 BC).
Oath of the Horatii (1784), French painting by Jacques-Louis David,
depicting the three brothers Horatius making an oath to defend Rome
and defeat the three brothers Curiatius of Alba Longa (in the VII
century BC).
Text sources Wikipedia.org and kirjasto.sci.fi, image source
VRoma.org.
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108 Family Members
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* liaus Horatius
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* flavius Horatius
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* Morelli Horatius
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* Calpurnia Horatius
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* Apollonius Horatius
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* Octavia Horatius
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* Primus Horatius
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* Iulia Horatius
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* Petrus Horatius
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* Augusta Horatius
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* caesarus Horatius
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* Maecenas Horatius
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* Hankus Horatius
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* Lamadius Horatius
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* Unconscius Horatius
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* Horatio Horatius
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* Livia Horatius
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* Lexium Horatius
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* Heinus Horatius
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* Clara Horatius
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