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Sextus Propertius

Author of Elegies

53+ Works 1,350 Members 12 Reviews 5 Favorited

About the Author

Propertius was deprived of his Umbrian estate in the confiscation of the civil war. He applied his rhetorical education not to the courts, but to poetry. His first book of elegies to "Cynthia" won him the patronage of Maecenas and established his reputation as a passionate, witty, self-absorbed, show more and learned poet. The three books that followed invoke Cynthia, but also carry tributes to Maecenas, to Roman greatness, addresses to friends, and antiquarian fragments. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Propertius and Cynthia at Tivoli by Auguste Jean Baptiste Vinchon

Works by Sextus Propertius

Elegies (1972) 770 copies, 8 reviews
Carmina (1954) 239 copies, 3 reviews
Elegies: Book I (1961) 111 copies
Elegies: Book IV (1979) 72 copies
Elegies: Book II (1967) 26 copies
Elegies: Book III (1966) 23 copies
Elegias (1992) 17 copies, 1 review
Poesie a Cinzia (2012) 4 copies
Arena of Lust Pb (1996) 2 copies
LLIBRE PRIMER D'ELEGIES (2004) 2 copies
El©♭gies 1 copy
Elegies (1946) 1 copy
Cynthia (2023) 1 copy
Liebeselegien. Carmina (2011) 1 copy

Associated Works

Tagged

2013 (24) 2013S (24) 2018F (24) Ancient Rome (24) author=Propertius (13) classical literature (25) classics (82) CM (24) Commentary (14) complete (26) DB (24) Elegia latina (20) elegy (27) fiction (15) Latin (127) Latin language (14) Latin literature (87) Latin poetry (32) Latin Text (17) literature (35) Loeb (23) love (15) OCT (15) poetry (217) Propertius (48) Roman (16) Roman literature (20) Rome (20) to-read (11) translation (20)

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Sextus Propertius
Other names
Properci
Birthdate
c. 55 BCE
Date of death
c. 16 BCE
Gender
male
Occupations
poet
Nationality
Roman Empire
Places of residence
Assisium, Umbria, Roman Empire (birth)
Rome, Roman Empire (death)
Associated Place (for map)
Roman Empire

Members

Reviews

12 reviews
I am reading Heyworth's Oxford Classical Text, which is the pictured book. I am not sure why so many translations have been attached and reviewed under it! Heyworth's is a radical edition, with many emendations, transpositions, and deletions (these are all discussed in a companion volume, Cynthia). He does tend to go overboard with unnecessary transpositions of lines. It is often more readable than its more conservative predecessors, but those familiar with them will find the text quite show more different; quot editores, tot Propertii. show less
Richardson provides a very solid commentary on his version of Propertius. His text includes a number of emendations, recombinations, and transpositions, not all found in other editions. He makes an effort to produce a readable text that does not have a lot of hanging fragments. His commentary focuses on literary issues more than textual ones (and many of his textual alterations are driven by his literary readings/interpretations). I am not sure that he is always right (understatement) but he show more produces a readable and attractive Propertius. I think Heyworth's OCT is a better text from a philological standpoint, both more radical (printing more emendations) and more conservative (in not moving around text quite as much and recognizing more fragments). show less
I really don't like Propertius, but you can't blame the book for that, which has good introductions and commentary (though no dictionary in the back).
Contains his famously dramatic and obsessive elegies to, for, and about Cynthia. In matters of the heart, not much has changed since 50 BCE in Rome.

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Statistics

Works
53
Also by
10
Members
1,350
Popularity
#19,055
Rating
3.8
Reviews
12
ISBNs
122
Languages
12
Favorited
5

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