Sulpicia the younger

Sulpicia the Younger was a Roman poet at the time of Emperor Domitian (81–96).

She is praised by Martial (X 35 and 38), who compares her to Sappho as a model of female devotion. She wrote a volume of poetry in which she described, with remarkable freedom in language, the methods she used to gain the affection of her husband, Calenus.

A preserved poem of 70 hexameters also bears her name. It takes the form of a dialogue between Sulpicia and the muse Kalliope and is mainly a protest against the banishment of the philosophers by the Edict of Domitian of 94, which she sees as a step back into barbarism. At the same time, Sulpicia expresses the hope that Calenus will not be harmed. The muse calms them down and prophesies the overthrow of the tyrant.

Today there is widespread agreement that this poem (the manuscript was found in 1493 in the Abbey of Bobbio , but was long lost) does not come from Sulpicia, but was written much later, perhaps in the 5th century ; in another view it is even a 15th century production and not even identical to the poem found in Bobbio.

literature

Emil Baehrens : De Sulpiciae quae vocatur satira commendatio philologica. Frommann, Jenae 1873 (Jena, University, habilitation paper, 1873).
Harald Fuchs (Übers): The lament of Sulpicia about the tyranny of Emperor Domitian. In: Marc Sieber (Ed.): Discordia Concors. Ceremony for Edgar Bonjour on his 70th birthday on August 21, 1968. Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel 1968, pp. 32–47.
Otto Jahn , Franz Bücheler (Eds.): A. Persii Flacci , D. Junii Juvenalis , Sulpiciae saturae. Weidmann, Berlin 1893.
Danuta Jędrzejczak, Distich of Sulpicia Minor , “Antiquité Vivante” 54 (1-2), 2004, pp. 83-96.
Danuta Jędrzejczak, Sulpicia as a Woman-Singer , “Latomus” 68, 2009, pp. 695-697.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Sulpicia the younger
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Sulpicia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Roman poet
DATE OF BIRTH	1st century
DATE OF DEATH	1st century or 2nd century