# Classical Literature: The Golden Age of Augustan Rome

Bust of Caesar Augustus. (Image by Justin Paola.)

### Instructor(s)

Prof. James Cain

### MIT Course Number

21L.455

### As Taught In

Fall 2004

### Level

Undergraduate

### Translated Versions

繁體字

###

Some Description
Instructor(s) | Prof.
As Taught In | Spring 2002
Course Number | 2.24
Level | Undergraduate/Graduate
Features | Lecture Notes, Student Work

## Course Description

## Course Features

- Assignments: presentations (no examples)
- Assignments: written (no examples)

## Course Highlights

This course features a number of downloadable readings and a selective chronology of events during Augustan Rome.

## Course Description

Roman Literature of the Golden Age of Augustus Caesar, produced during the transition from Republican to Imperial forms of government, was to have a profound and defining influence on Western European and American societies. These writings ultimately established lasting models of aesthetic refinement, philosophical aspiration, and political ambition that continue to shape modern cultures. This class will be exploring the Golden Age of Latin Literature from an historical perspective in order to provide an intensive examination of the cultural contexts in which these monumental works of classical art were first produced. Readings will emphasize the transition from a Republican form of government to an Empire under the rule of Augustus Caesar and the diversity of responses among individual authors to the profound structural changes that Roman society was undergoing at this time. Particular attention will be devoted to the reorganization of society and the self through textuality, the changing dimensions of the public and the private, the roles of class and gender, and the relationship between art and pleasure. Writings covering a wide variety of literary genres will include the works of Caesar, Cicero, Catullus, Livy, Virgil, Horace, and Ovid, with additional readings from Cassius Dio for background.

## Related Content

## Course Collections

See related courses in the following collections:

### Find Courses by Topic

- Philosophy > Political Philosophy
- Literature > Classics
- History > Intellectual History
- History > Ancient History

James Cain. 21L.455 Classical Literature: The Golden Age of Augustan Rome. Fall 2004. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.

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