This study explores odes and epistles by the late-first-century poet Horace in the light of modern anthropological and literary theory. The author examines, in particular, how the relationship between Horace and his patron Maecenas is reflected in these poems' themes and rhetorical figures.
"In this very substantial contribution to Horatian scholarship, Bowditch focuses on the Roman patronage system, of which Horace was a notable beneficiary. Passing over the early years of the 30s BCE, when Maecenas first befriended Horace and introduced him into his privileged circle of political and literary associates in Rome, Bowditch concentrates on the decisive step in the relationship of the two when Maecenas gave Horace the Sabine Farm in the hill region beyond Tibur (modern Tivoli). Bowditch helps us view the complex significance of this 'gift' through a dazzling array of theoretical material from modern anthropological research into Greek, Roman, and North American Indian prehistory, drawn also from the disputed views on Roman patronage and from postmodern theories about the roles of writer and audiences in literature. . . . Bowditch's versatile interpretations of these Epistles, the most ingenious contribution of this valuable study, will offer a challenge for some time to future readers and scholars."- William S. Anderson, author/editor of Why Horace? : A Collection of Interpretations
