Introduction

Abstract The Introduction begins by laying out the complexity and range of elegiac poetry at Rome, with particular reference to the works of two of its most famous and most experimental practitioners, Propertius and Ovid. Both were interested in exploring and expanding the possibilities of the genre of Latin love elegy, after beginning their careers writing in this genre. The Introduction then explains how the volume analyses Roman elegy’s treatment of power (erotic, political, and authorial), its religious and mythological aspects, and its influence, which can be seen to outlast the brevity of its late Republican and early imperial efflorescence to a considerable degree. It outlines the structure, methods, intertextualities, and emphases of the volume.