Regal Resonances: Ovid, theprinceps, and the Remote Past inFasti2, 4, and 6

Abstract

Through a network of verbal echoes and allusions, Ovid invites readers to forge connections between three events disparate in time and in their placement in the Fasti: the rape and suicide of Lucretia (2.685-852); the death of Remus (4.807-62); and the murder of Servius Tullius (6.585-636). The many lexical and thematic correspondences between these regal narratives have largely gone unnoticed yet combine to offer powerful statements about the relationship of Rome’s past to its present and future. The narratives expose concerns about the reemergence of monarchic power and tensions within the domus Augusta brought about by deaths, scandals, and dynastic struggles. Together the three narratives can be read as a meditation on contemporary political affairs in late Augustan and early Tiberian Rome.