Editing Latin literature (section)

==== The Augustan Age ====
{{Main|Augustan literature (ancient Rome)}}
[[File:Virgilio.png|thumb|left|upright|[[Virgil]]]]

The emperor [[Augustus]] took a personal interest in the literary works produced during his years of power from 27 BC to AD 14. This period is sometimes called the Augustan Age of Latin Literature. [[Virgil]] published his pastoral ''Eclogues'', the ''Georgics'', and the ''Aeneid'', an epic poem describing the events that led to the creation of Rome. Virgil told how the Trojan hero Aeneas became the ancestor of the Roman people. Virgil provided divine justification for Roman rule over the world. Although Virgil died before he could put the finishing touches on his poem, it was soon regarded as the greatest work of Latin literature.<ref>[[Susanna Braund|Morton Braund, Susanna]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IOwR7uVMGUYC&pg=PA1 ''Latin literature.''] Routledge, 2002. p. 1. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref><ref>[[Marcia Colish|Colish, Marcía L.]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=WY-2MeZqoK0C&pg=PA226 ''The Stoic Tradition from Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages: Stoicism in classical Latin literature.''] BRILL, 1990. p. 226. Web. 18 October 2011.</ref>

Virgil's friend [[Horace]] wrote ''Epodes'', ''Odes'', ''Satires'', and ''Epistles''. The perfection of the ''Odes'' in content, form, and style has charmed readers for hundreds of years. The ''Satires'' and ''Epistles'' discuss ethical and literary problems in an urbane, witty manner. Horace's ''Art of Poetry'', probably published as a separate work, greatly influenced later poetic theories. It stated the basic rules of classical writing as the Romans understood and used them. After Virgil died, Horace was Rome's leading poet.<ref>Britannica Educational Publishing. [https://books.google.com/books?id=LHA_SydyKOYC&pg=PA39 ''Poetry and Drama: Literary Terms and Concepts.''] The Rosen Publishing Group, 2011. p. 39. Web. 18 October 2011.</ref>

The Latin elegy reached its highest development in the works of [[Tibullus]], [[Propertius]], and [[Ovid]]. Most of this poetry is concerned with love. Ovid wrote the ''Fasti'', which describes Roman festivals and their legendary origins. Ovid's greatest work, the ''Metamorphoses'', weaves various myths into a fast-paced, fascinating story. Ovid was a witty writer who excelled in creating lively and passionate characters. The ''Metamorphoses'' was the best-known source of Greek and Roman mythology throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It inspired many poets, painters, and composers.

One of the few female poets of ancient Rome whose work has survived is [[Sulpicia]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Hallett | first=Judith P.| author-link=Judith P. Hallett | year=2002 | chapter=The Eleven Elegies of the Augustan Poet Sulpicia | editor1-first=Laurie J. | editor1-last=Churchill | editor2-first=Phyllis R. | editor2-last=Brown | editor3-first=Jane E. | editor3-last=Jeffrey | title=Women Writing Latin: from Roman Antiquity to Early Modern Europe | location=New York | volume=I | pages=45–84 }}</ref>

In prose, [[Livy]] produced a history of the Roman people in 142 books. Only 35 survived, but they are a major source of information on Rome.<ref>Cary, Max; Haarhoff, Theodore Johannes. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bx8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA268 ''Life and thought in the Greek and Roman world.''] Taylor & Francis, 1985. p. 268. Web. 15 October 2011.</ref>