Epodes

Abstract This chapter explains the nature of the ‘iambic’ poetry in the Epodes, a poetry of abuse with models in the Greek poets Hipponax and especially Archilochus (the latter in the 7th century bce). The association of iambic poetry with the symposium, a Greek male social gathering, is considered, and its aggressive representation of women: the point is made how selective a reading of Horace is required to produce the model of middle-aged poise and wisdom that is his modern reputation. But the high capacity of this poetry to convey the tense and febrile conditions of Rome at the time of its publication, in the immediate context of the critical battle of Actium, is also observed.