Propertius, Sextus

Propertius, Sextus (sĕk`stəs prōpûr`shəs), c.50 B.C.–c.16 B.C., Roman elegiac poet, b. Umbria. He was a member of the circle of Maecenas. A master of the Latin elegy, he wrote with vigor, passion, and sincerity.

Bibliography

See translations by C. Carrier (1963) and J. Warden (1972); studies by M. Platnauer (1951) and D. R. S. Bailey (1956).

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Propertius, Sextus

(born 55/43, Assisi, Umbria—died after 16 BC, Rome) Roman poet. Very few details of his life are known. The first and best known of his four books of elegies (see elegy), Cynthia, was published in 29 BC, the year he met its heroine (his mistress, whose real name was Hostia). She emerges from his poems as beautiful, uninhibited, jealous, and irresistible. In Book II his main theme is still love, but he also contemplates writing an epic, is preoccupied with thoughts of death, and attacks the materialism of his time. Books III and IV demonstrate a bold command of language and various literary forms; among the subjects are Roman mythology and history.