Epistulae ex Ponto ( Letters from the Black Sea ) is a work of Ovid , in four books. It is a collection of letters describing Ovid's exile in Tomis (modern-day Constanța ) written in elegiac couplets and addressed to his wife and friends. The first three books were composed between 12 and 13 AD, according to the general academic consensus: "none of these elegies contains references to events falling outside that time span". The fourth book is believed to have been published posthumously.
42-474: The themes of the letters are similar to those of Tristia . Ovid writes to his wife and friends about the grimness of his exile, his deteriorating state of health and the future of his literary works. A recurring request to Ovid 's named addressees in Epistulae ex Ponto remains his desire for a change of location from Tomis, which he repeatedly describes as "a town located in a war-stricken cultural wasteland on
84-605: A lasting liaison ( Tacitus describes him as "a persistent paramour"). This was the first of a series of alleged adulteries. According to Suetonius, Julia's marital status did not prevent her from conceiving a passion for Augustus's stepson, and thus her stepbrother, Tiberius , so it was widely rumoured. The newlyweds lived in a villa in Rome that has since been excavated near the modern Farnesina in Trastevere . Agrippa and Julia's marriage resulted in five children: Gaius Caesar , Julia
126-468: A passenger only when the ship’s hold is full.” On her character, he writes that Julia was extensively celebrated for her amiable, empathetic nature and studiousness despite her profligacy: "[S]he was abusing her standing as fortune’s darling, and her father’s, though in other respects she gained a great deal of credit for her love of literature and extensive learning... and her kindness, fellow-feeling, and lack of cruelty." Sidonius Apollinaris , writing in
168-451: A previous marriage of Agrippa), the woman he dearly loved. Suetonius alleges that Tiberius had a low opinion of Julia's character, while Tacitus claims that she disdained Tiberius as an unequal match and even sent his father a letter, written by Sempronius Gracchus, denouncing him. The marriage was thus blighted almost from the start, and the son that Julia bore him died in infancy. By 6 BC, when Tiberius departed for Rhodes , if not earlier,
210-540: A single poem. Taking this division into account, book 1 has 13 poems, book 3 has 15, book 4 has 11, book 5 has 16. Book 2, as noted above, is one single poem. Peter Green wrote in a translation of Ovid's exile poems that the Tristia "[has] not, on the whole, had a good press from posterity." Gordon Williams referred to the work as "mostly a pale reflection of the genius that he had been." However, Ralph J. Hexter wrote in 1995 that literary critics were then "beginning to give
252-452: A son named Lucius. In 17 BC, Augustus adopted the newborn Lucius and the three-year-old Gaius. He took care of their education personally. Although Agrippa died in 12 BC, Augustus did not adopt the third brother, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Posthumus, until AD 4, after the exile of Julia - and after the deaths of both Gaius and Lucius. Nicolaus and Josephus mention that during Julia's marriage to Agrippa, she travelled to meet Agrippa where he
294-532: A vestal virgin – pudicarum Vesta matrum 'Vesta of chaste matrons'. However, Augustus ' death and the death of his friend and frequent addressee, Paullus Fabius Maximus , discourage Ovid from hoping for a return. The collection ends on a sombre note, with a letter addressed to an unnamed enemy, accused of attempting to harm an already ruined Ovid. Epistulae ex Ponto is divided into four books, all consisting of letters sent to different addressees. Tristia The Tristia ("Sad things" or "Sorrows")
336-602: Is a collection of poems written in elegiac couplets by the Augustan poet Ovid during the first three years following his banishment from Rome to Tomis on the Black Sea in AD 8. Despite five books in which he bewails his fate copiously, the immediate cause of Augustus ' banishment of the most acclaimed living Latin poet to Pontus remains a mystery. In addition to the Tristia , Ovid wrote another collection of elegiac epistles on his exile,
378-647: Is generally agreed by contemporary historians that it was as a result of Tiberius's actions against her, the circumstances of her death are obscure. Dio Cassius indicates Tiberius had a direct hand in her death by imprisoning her until she died either from debility or starvation. Tacitus remarks that upon learning Postumus had been murdered, she succumbed to despair and her health slowly declined. Augustus had explicitly given instructions in his will that she should not be buried in his Mausoleum of Augustus . Simultaneously, her alleged paramour Sempronius Gracchus , who had endured 14 years of exile on Cercina ( Kerkenna ) off
420-463: Is said that at any mention of Julia or her two disgraced children, Augustus would remark of them: "If only I had never married, or had died childless", slightly misquoting Hector , in the Iliad . There is mention of at least one suppressed plot to take her from captivity; one Lucius Audasius and one Asinius Epicadus had planned to forcibly take her and her son Agrippa Postumus from where they were held and to
462-497: The Epistulae ex Ponto , as well as a 642-line curse poem called Ibis , directed against the unnamed enemy who had apparently caused his downfall. He spent several years in the outpost of Tomis and died in AD 17 or 18 without ever returning to Rome. The Tristia was once viewed unfavorably in Ovid's oeuvre but has become the subject of scholarly interest in recent years. The first of
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#1732855895461504-422: The "error" is never made clear, although some speculate it may have had something to do with Ovid's overhearing (or rather discovery) of the adulterous nature of Augustus' daughter, Julia . He defends his work and his life with equal vigor, appealing to the many poets who had written on the same themes as he—among them Anacreon , Sappho , Catullus and even Homer . The plea was unsuccessful; Ovid would live out
546-452: The 5th century, was the first person to identify Julia as the figure Corinna in Ovid's Amores . In 1605, the Polish historian Laurentius Suslyga published a tract (later quoted by Kepler ), which for the first time suggested that Jesus was born sometime during the years 6-4 BC, not on 25 December 1 BC as Dionysius Exiguus implied, but never stated. According to Dionysius' dating scheme,
588-679: The African coast, was executed either at Tiberius' instigation or on the independent initiative of L. Nonius Asprenas , proconsul of Africa. Her daughter Julia died in AD 28, after 20 years of exile; like her mother, the younger Julia was forbidden by Augustus's will to be buried in his tomb. Among contemporary writers, Julia is almost universally remembered for her flagrant and promiscuous conduct. Thus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (2.100) describes her as "tainted by luxury or lust", listing among her lovers Iullus Antonius, Quintius Crispinus, Appius Claudius, Sempronius Gracchus, and Cornelius Scipio . Seneca
630-560: The Roman people, who petitioned several times for her to be recalled. Julia's exile cast a long shadow over Augustus's remaining years. In AD 6, Julia's youngest son, Agrippa Postumus , was exiled for his growing unruliness. Then, in AD 8, her elder daughter Julia the Younger was exiled to Tremirus , likewise charged with adultery; it may also have been related to the attempted revolt by her husband Lucius Aemilius Paullus and one Plautius Rufus. It
672-595: The Younger refers to "adulterers admitted in droves"; Pliny the Elder calls her an “ exemplum licentiae ” ( NH 21.9). Dio Cassius mentions "revels and drinking parties by night in the Forum and even upon the Rostra " ( Roman History 55.10). Seneca ( De Beneficiis 6.32) tells us that the Rostra was the place where "her father had proposed a law against adultery", and yet now she had chosen
714-462: The Younger , Lucius Caesar , Agrippina the Elder (mother of Caligula ), and Agrippa Postumus (a posthumous son). From June 20 BC to the spring of 18 BC, Agrippa was governor of Gaul , and it is likely that Julia followed him across the Alps. Shortly after their arrival, their first child Gaius was born, and in 19 BC, Julia gave birth to Vipsania Julia. After their return to Italy, a third child followed:
756-422: The Younger . At the time of Julia's birth, 39 BC, Augustus had not yet received the title "Augustus" and was known as "Gaius Julius Caesar Divi Filius", though historians refer to him as "Octavian" until 27 BC, when Julia was 11. Octavian divorced Julia's mother on the day of her birth and took Julia from her soon thereafter. Octavian, in accordance with Roman custom, claimed complete parental control over her. She
798-402: The advice of Maecenas, who in counseling Augustus remarked: "You have made him so great that he must either become your son-in-law or be slain." Agrippa was nearly 25 years her elder; it was a typical arranged marriage, with Julia functioning as a pawn in her father's dynastic plans. There is from this period the report of an infidelity with one Sempronius Gracchus , with whom Julia allegedly had
840-481: The apparent preference for Marcellus is allegedly the catalyst that led Agrippa to withdraw to Mytilene , Greece. However, Marcellus died in September 23 BC, when Julia was sixteen. The union produced no children. In 21 BC, having now reached the age of 18, Julia married Agrippa, a man from a modest family who had risen to become Augustus's most trusted general and friend. This step is said to have been taken partly on
882-600: The armies, presumably to stage a coup against Augustus. Upon Augustus's death in AD 14, Tiberius ascended to the Principate. Despite having shown some sympathy towards Julia when she was initially exiled, he instead enforced harsher conditions upon her. He removed her dowry and yearly income, citing that Augustus had failed to make provisions for them in his will, and thus left her destitute. Furthermore, he denied her permission to leave her house or receive visitors. Julia died in AD 14, some time after Augustus's death. While it
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#1732855895461924-420: The couple had separated. Because Augustus was her legitimate father, having married her mother with conubium , Augustus had Patria Potestas over her. Patria Potestas lasted until the pater familias, Augustus, either died or emancipated his child. Marriage had no effect on Patria Potestas , unless it was manus marriage , which was rare at this point in time. As the daughter of Augustus, mother (now legally
966-476: The departing book against the dangers of its destination, was probably written last. The second book consists of a single 578-line poem. It takes the form of a plea to Augustus to end the unhappy exile brought about by his carmen et error (poem and error). The poem which had angered the Emperor was apparently Ovid's Ars Amatoria , a light-hearted instruction manual on how to pick up women; the nature of
1008-570: The eastern provinces, where they visited Herod. In October 14 BC, the couple traveled to Athens , where Julia gave birth to her fourth child, Agrippina. After the winter, the family returned to Italy. Julia quickly became pregnant again, but her husband died suddenly in March 12 BC in Campania at the age of 51. He was buried in the Mausoleum of Augustus. Julia named the posthumous son Marcus in his honor. He
1050-633: The exile elegies a fresh look." A number of scholars have since viewed the collection favorably. It is listed among Ovid's major works by author David Malouf and scholar Matthew Woodcock. In Matthew Bunson 's Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire , it is called "a powerful plea for justice." Julia the Elder Julia the Elder (30 October 39 BC – AD 14), known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia ( Classical Latin : IVLIA•CAESARIS•FILIA or IVLIA•AVGVSTI•FILIA ),
1092-479: The five books was written during Ovid's journey into exile. It addresses his grieving wife, his friends — both the faithful and the false — and his past works, especially the Metamorphoses . Ovid describes his arduous travel to the furthest edge of the empire, giving him a chance to draw parallels with the exiles of Aeneas and Odysseus (Ulysses) and excuse his work's failings. The introductory poem, which cautions
1134-534: The genial character of Germanicus , nephew and adopted son of the emperor Tiberius , who is addressed or mentioned in several places. Augustus and Livia feature heavily in the collection, as they do in Tristia , as absolute authorities over Ovid 's hopes of his recalling to Rome or change of location for his relegation . Ovid acknowledges the Empress Livia as a potential ally to return home, describing her like
1176-455: The letter, written by Gracchus, asking Augustus to allow Julia to divorce Tiberius. Reluctant to execute her, Augustus decided instead to confine Julia on Pandateria , an island that measures less than 1.75 square kilometres (0.68 sq mi), with no men in sight and forbidden even to drink wine. Her mother, Scribonia , accompanied her into exile. She was allowed no visitor unless her father had given permission and had been informed of
1218-486: The period, expectations of Julia focused on marriage and on the resulting family alliances . Moreover, Augustus desired a male issue; as his only living child, Julia's duty would be to provide her father with grandsons whom he could adopt as his heirs. In 25 BC, at the age of fourteen, Julia married her first cousin Marcellus , the son of her father's sister Octavia , who was some three years older than she. Augustus himself
1260-442: The place for her "debaucheries". Seneca specifically mentions prostitution: "laying aside the role of adulteress, she there [ in the Forum ] sold her favours, and sought the right to every indulgence with even an unknown paramour." Macrobius provides invaluable details of her witticisms and personality. Among the sassy ripostes he attributes to her is a retort to people's surprise that her children all resembled Agrippa - “I take on
1302-1063: The remainder of his years in exile among the Thracian Getae . The last three books of the Tristia grow grimmer as their author ages, heavy with the knowledge that he will never return to his home. At one point he even composes his epitaph : I who lie here, sweet Ovid, poet of tender passions, fell victim to my own sharp wit. Passer-by, if you've ever been in love, don't grudge me the traditional prayer: 'May Ovid's bones lie soft!' The last poem of book 5 addresses Ovid's wife, praising her loyalty throughout his years of exile and wishing that she be remembered for as long as his books are read. The number of poems in Tristia differs slightly in different editions. For example, in Hall's 1995 Teubner edition, poems 1.5, 1.9, 3.4, 4.4, 5.2 and 5.7 are each split into two separate poems, which in most manuscripts each appear to be
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1344-503: The remotest margins of empire". Recent scholarship has repeatedly identified discrepancies between Ovid's version and historical fact regarding Tomis. While they explore similar themes, Epistulae ex Ponto differ from Tristia in epistolographic format, as they have named addressees. The individuals named include Paullus Fabius Maximus , Sextus Pompeius , and the brothers Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus and Marcus Aurelius Cotta Maximus Messalinus . Ovid 's hopes rested largely on
1386-478: The sister) of two of his heirs, Lucius and Gaius, and wife of another, Tiberius, Julia's future seemed assured to all. Yet in 2 BC she was arrested for adultery and treason; Augustus sent her a letter in Tiberius's name declaring the marriage null and void (Tiberius was at this time on the island of Rhodes and unable to respond quickly). He also asserted in public that she had been plotting against his own life. Though at
1428-434: The stature, complexion, and even of any marks or scars upon his body. Five years after her initial exile, around AD 4, Julia was moved to Rhegium on the mainland and Augustus appears to have granted her a peculium (property), a yearly income and permitted her to walk about the town. Despite these concessions, Augustus never forgave her nor ever allowed her to return to Rome. This choice appears to have been unpopular with
1470-610: The time Augustus had been passing legislation to promote family values, collectively known as the Leges Iuliae , he likely knew of her intrigues with other men but hesitated for some time to accuse her. Several of Julia's supposed lovers were exiled, most notably Sempronius Gracchus , while Iullus Antonius (son of Mark Antony and Fulvia ) was forced to commit suicide. Others have suggested that Julia's alleged paramours were members of her city clique, who wished to remove Tiberius from favour and replace him with Antonius. This would explain
1512-455: Was campaigning. She was caught up in a flash flood in Ilium (Troy), and almost drowned. Agrippa was furious, and in his anger he fined the locals 100,000 drachmae. The fine was a heavy blow but no one would face Agrippa to request an appeal. Only after Herod , king of Judaea, went to Agrippa to request a pardon did he withdraw the fine. In the spring of 16 BC, Agrippa and Julia started a tour through
1554-572: Was not present for the wedding as he was fighting a war in Spain and had fallen ill. Instead, he commissioned Agrippa to preside over the ceremony and hold the festival in his absence. The decision to marry Marcellus to Julia, and then Augustus's choice to raise Marcellus to the pontificate and curule aedileship, was perceived to be an indication that he would be Augustus's successor in power, despite his youth. This put him at odds with Agrippa, who, people believed, would oppose Marcellus' accession to power;
1596-542: Was sealed with an engagement: Antony's ten-year-old son Marcus Antonius Antyllus was to marry Julia, then two years old. The engagement never led to marriage because civil war broke out. In 31 BC, at the Battle of Actium , Octavian and Agrippa defeated Antony and Cleopatra . In Alexandria , the defeated couple both committed suicide, and Octavian became sole ruler of the Roman Empire . As with most aristocratic Roman women of
1638-409: Was sent to live with her stepmother Livia and when she was old enough learned how to be an aristocrat. Her education appears to have been strict and somewhat old-fashioned. Thus, in addition to her studies, Suetonius informs us, she was taught spinning and weaving. Macrobius mentions "her love of literature and considerable culture, a thing easy to come by in that household". Julia's social life
1680-523: Was severely controlled, and she was allowed to talk only to people whom her father had vetted. However, Octavian had a great affection for his daughter and made sure she had the best teachers available. Macrobius preserves a remark of Augustus: "There are two wayward daughters that I have to put up with: the Roman commonwealth and Julia." In 37 BC, during Julia's early childhood, Octavian's friends Gaius Maecenas and Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa concluded an agreement with Octavian's great rival Mark Antony . It
1722-733: Was the daughter and only biological child of Augustus , the first Roman emperor, and his second wife, Scribonia . Julia was also stepsister and second wife of the Emperor Tiberius ; maternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and the Empress Agrippina the Younger ; grandmother-in-law of the Emperor Claudius ; and maternal great-grandmother of the Emperor Nero . Her epithet "the Elder" distinguishes her from her daughter, Julia
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1764-426: Was to be known as Agrippa Postumus. Immediately after the boy was born, and while Julia was still in mourning, Augustus had her betrothed and then remarried to Tiberius, her stepbrother. After the death of Agrippa, Augustus sought to promote his step-son Tiberius, believing that this would best serve his own dynastic interests. Tiberius married Julia (11 BC), but first had to divorce Vipsania Agrippina (daughter from
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