Govero, ThomasConti, FabrizioSirbu, Elena Catalina2024-05-312024-05-312021Sirbu, Elena Catalina. "The Augustan Manipulation of the Roman Literary World and the Anti- Augustanism Emerging from Propertius and Ovid’s Works". BA Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2021.https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14490/81Thesis (B.A. in Classical Studies)--John Cabot University, Spring 2021.My research question relates to how Augustus manipulated the literary world of his time and how the poets he employed to secure support among the elites – specifically Propertius and Ovid – reacted to his rule and to being used as a part of the propaganda machine and chose to express their criticism of Augustus. The methods of investigation used mostly consist of Propertius and Ovid’s literary works: the Elegiae for Propertius and the Amores and Metamorphoses for Ovid. In the first part of this work the focus will be on the exploitation of myth, first by Augustus in his propaganda program and second by the Augustan poets as a safe means to express dissent in their works; then the discussion will move onto the nature of Maecenas’ power in Rome and his role in the Roman literary scene and in ensuring literary support for the regime. The second part will consider the writings of Propertius and Ovid, with a focus on the anti-Augustanism emerging from their works. For Propertius, the discussion will revolve around his critique of Augustus and Roman military imperialism, while, for Ovid, around his critique of Augustus’ appropriation and exploitation of state religion for the regime and his attempt to reform and control Roman public morality. It will be concluded that Augustus used myth to elevate his status to a mythical one and create an ever-lasting personal association with Apollo and that not only was Maecenas’ power in Rome was extensive and very significant, but that he controlled literature through his literary circle and secured the support of the poets for Augustus and his rule. It will also be concluded that neither Propertius nor Ovid were sincere in their apparent support of Augustus’ regime.v, 43 pagesenAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Latin literatureHistory and criticismOvid, 43 B.C.-17 A.D. or 18 A.D.Propertius SextusThesis