Sulpicia’s Scandalous Elegiacs (1st C BC)
As the only known woman from ancient Rome whose poetry has survived into modern day, Sulpicia’s poems stand out as a bold female voice in a male-dominated field of ancient literature.
Sulpicia was likely the daughter of Servius Sulpicius Rufus and the niece of Roman politician Messalla – powerful members of the Roman elite, called the patrician class. Messalla was well known as a patron of literature and art, and combined with her station of birth, Sulpicia would have been very highly educated by personal tutors.
Very little remain of her writings, however of the eight rather demure poems that have survived, at least half of them are addressed to a lover by the name of Cerinthus – most certainly a pseudonym for her real lover, if not a fictional character in the style of other Roman poets like Ovid or Catullus.
Her work managed to survive the centuries by preservation through the writings of another poet named Tibullus, and for many years, scholars attributed Sulpicia’s writings to Tibullus himself. However, they are now known definitively as written by this high-born woman, and serve as a little piece of insight into the inner workings of a woman in love in ancient Rome!
Here is one of Sulpicia’s poems, translated by Jon Corelis, where Sulpicia seems to suspect that her lover has become interested in a prostitute – and naturally, is furious at such insulting behavior.
Sulpicia 4: A Curt Reply
I’m glad you take me for granted enough to show me
what kind of man I almost let possess me.
Go chasing after hookers and spinning-girls and whores:
forget Sulpicia, daughter of Servius.
But I have friends who care, and who will spare no pains
to see that no cheap slut humiliates me.
Want to read more?
Tomorrow: Crocodilopolis (no we didn’t make that up)
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