The end of Augustan literature: Ovid's Epistulae ex Ponto IV

This dissertation offers a literary, historical, and cultural analysis of Ovid’s “Epistulae ex Ponto” IV. This book of poetry has largely been overlooked by scholars of Ovid and historians of the Augustan age. By bringing attention to it, I show how crucial it is to our understanding of Roman poetic practices during the transition from Augustus’ political experiment of the Principate to dynastic imperial politics with the ascension of Tiberius to the throne. I offer substantial analysis of all sixteen poems in the collection from a variety of angles, especially, philological, historical, biographical, and feminist. In chapter one, I situate “ex Ponto” IV in the history of the Roman poetry book. I focus especially on how Ovid has modeled his book on the fourth books of his predecessors Propertius and Horace. I argue against the scholarly opinion that the book was not organized by Ovid. In chapter two, I examine the historical period of the book and inquire into Ovid’s explicit attention to Augustus’ death and the ambiguities around his celebration of the consulship of Sextus Pompeius in 14 CE. I show that the book is deeply invested in questions of inheritance and dynastic politics. Chapter three considers the portrayal of women in Ovid’s exile and stems from the curious fact that his wife does not appear in book four. I argue that Ovid had attempted to use his wife to access an unspoken network of women who were close to powerful men. He had thought that she could help get him recalled from exile. After the death of Augustus, though, Ovid distances himself and his wife from Livia because of her uncertain role in Tiberius’ reign. Chapter four looks at Ovid’s late interest in the Temple of Hercules Musarum and poetic communities in general. How, these poems ask, are poets meant to maintain a community when their members can be exiled? My last chapter is an extended study of “ex Ponto” 4.16. It considers the nature of Ovid’s catalogues throughout his poetry, especially catalogues of proper names. I particularly discuss his bold decision to put the names of living poets in the list, a phenomenon he had only ever reserved for himself.

本学位论文对奥维德的《黑海书简》第四卷（Epistulae ex Ponto IV）展开文学、历史与文化层面的分析。这部诗集长期以来被奥维德研究学者与奥古斯都时代历史学家所忽视。通过聚焦这部诗集，本文阐明其对我们理解奥古斯都元首制政治试验向提比略登基后的王朝帝制转型时期罗马诗歌创作实践的重要意义。本文从语文学、历史学、传记学与女性主义等多元视角，对该集中全部十六首诗歌展开了深入分析。
第一章将《黑海书简》第四卷置于罗马诗歌集的发展史脉络中，重点分析奥维德如何以其前辈普罗佩提乌斯（Propertius）与贺拉斯（Horace）的第四卷诗歌为范本进行创作，并驳斥了学界认为该诗集并非由奥维德本人编订的观点。
第二章考察该诗集创作的历史语境，探究奥维德对奥古斯都之死的明确提及，以及其对公元14年塞克斯图斯·庞培（Sextus Pompeius）执政官就职庆典的表述所暗藏的歧义，并阐明该诗集深入探讨了继承问题与王朝政治议题。
第三章聚焦奥维德流放叙事中的女性形象塑造，其研究起点源于一个值得关注的现象：奥维德的妻子并未出现在第四卷中。本文认为，奥维德曾试图通过妻子接入与权贵阶层女性形成的隐性社交网络，以期借助她们的力量助自己重返罗马。但在奥古斯都去世后，鉴于莉维娅（Livia）在提比略统治时期的角色尚不明确，奥维德开始与妻子一同与莉维娅保持距离。
第四章探讨奥维德晚年对赫拉克勒斯·穆萨鲁姆神庙（Temple of Hercules Musarum）的关注，以及其对诗歌社群的整体思考。本章节提出设问：当诗人群体成员可能遭遇流放时，诗人们应如何维系自身社群？
最后一章对《黑海书简》第四卷第十六首（ex Ponto 4.16）展开深入研究，探讨奥维德在其全部诗歌创作中使用的目录（尤其是专有名词目录）的创作特质，并重点分析其将在世诗人姓名纳入目录的大胆尝试——此前他仅会将自身姓名列入此类目录。