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{{short description|Collection of poems by Horace}}
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{{Infobox poem
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The '''''Epodes''''' ({{
The 17 poems of the ''Epodes'' cover a variety of topics, including [[politics]], [[Magic (supernatural)|magic]], [[eroticism]] and [[food]]. A product of the [[Last war of the Roman Republic|turbulent final years]] of the [[Roman Republic]], the collection is known for its striking depiction of Rome's socio-political ills in a time of great upheaval. Due to their recurring coarseness and explicit treatment of sexuality, the ''Epodes'' have traditionally been Horace's least regarded work. However, the last quarter of the 20th century saw a resurgence in scholarly interest in the collection.
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Dating to the seventh century BC, the poems of Archilochus contain attacks, often highly sexualised and [[Scatology|scatological]], on other members of society. Two groups in particular are targets of his abuse: personal enemies and [[Promiscuity|promiscuous]] women. The above-mentioned Lycambes features in many of Archilochus' poems<ref>E.g. fr. 172–81 W.
Another significant iambic predecessor of Horace was [[Hipponax]], a lyric poet who flourished during the sixth century BC in [[Ephesus]], [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]]. Writing in the same vein as Archilochus, his poems depict the vulgar aspects of contemporary society. In contrast to the previous iambic tradition, he has been described as striking a discernibly satirical pose: through the use of eccentric and foreign language, many of his poems come across as humorous takes on low-brow activities.{{sfn|West|1993|p=xvii–xviii}} His influence is acknowledged in ''Epode'' 6.11–4. The Hellenistic scholar and poet [[Callimachus]] (third century BC) also wrote a collection of iambi, which are thought to have left a mark on Horace's poems. In these poems, Callimachus presented a toned-down, less aggressive version of the archaic iambus. Horace avoids direct allusions to Callimachus, a fact which has sometimes been seen as a strategy in favour of the style of Archilochus and Hipponax.{{sfn|Barchiesi|2001|p=18–9}}
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'''''Epode'' 7''' is addressed to the citizens of Rome. Set in the context of [[Last war of the Roman Republic|Octavian's civil war]], the poet scolds his fellow citizens for rushing to shed their own blood instead of fighting foreign enemies.<ref>''Epod.'' 7.3–10.</ref> The poem and its opening line ({{lang|la|Quo, quo scelesti ruitis?}} "Where, where are you rushing in your wickedness?") are famous for their desperate attempt to prevent renewed civil warfare.{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1988|p=1985–6}}
'''''Epode'' 8''' is the first of two 'sexual epodes'. In it, Horace lambasts a repulsive old woman for expecting sexual favours from him. Although she is wealthy and has a collection of sophisticated books, the poet rejects her ageing body. It has been argued that in this poem and in Epode 12, Horace is allegorically attacking the ugly over-embellished style of some earlier literature.<ref>Clayman, D. L. (1975)
'''''Epode'' 9''' extends an invitation to Maecenas to celebrate Octavian's victory in the [[Battle of Actium]] of 31 BC. Octavian is praised for having defeated [[Mark Antony]], who is portrayed as an unmanly leader because of his alliance with [[Cleopatra]].<ref>''Epod.'' 9.11–16.</ref>
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==Reception==
The ''Epodes'' have traditionally been Horace's least regarded work, due, in part, to the collection's recurring coarseness and its open treatment of sexuality. This has caused critics to strongly favour the political poems (1, 7, 9, and 16), while the remaining ones became marginalised.{{sfn|Watson|2007|p=93–4}} Leaving few traces in later ancient texts, the ''Epodes'' were often treated as a lesser appendix to the famous ''[[Odes (Horace)|Odes]]'' in the [[early modern period]]. Only the second ''Epode'', an idyllic vision of rural life, received regular attention by publishers and translators. Nevertheless, during the [[Victorian era]], a number of [[Public school (United Kingdom)|
The last quarter of the 20th century saw a resurgence of critical interest in the ''Epodes'', bringing with it the publication of several commentaries and scholarly articles.{{sfn|Watson|2007|p=93}} In the wake of this resurgence, the collection has become known for what the classicist [[Stephen Harrison (classicist)|Stephen Harrison]] describes as "hard-hitting analyses" of the socio-political issues of late-Republican Rome.{{sfn|Harrison|2019}}
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==Selected editions==
*{{cite book|author=Law, Andy|title=A Translation and Interpretation of Horace’s Iambi|location=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|year=2024|isbn=978-1036400279}} Latin text with translation and interpretation.
* {{cite book|author=Mankin, David|title=Horace: Epodes|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1995|isbn=978-0521397742}} Latin text with a commentary and introduction.
* {{cite book|author-link=Niall Rudd|author= Rudd, Niall|title=Odes and Epodes|location=Cambridge, MA|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0674996090}} Latin text with a facing English prose translation.
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* {{Cite book|title=Horace's Epodes: Contexts, Intertexts, and Reception|last1=Bather|first1=Philippa|year=2016|location=Oxford|pages=2–29|url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198746058.001.0001/acprof-9780198746058-chapter-1|last2=Stocks|first2=Clare|editor-last=Bather|editor-first=Philippa|chapter=Horace’s Epodes|editor2-last=Stocks|editor2-first=Clare|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198746058.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-874605-8 }} {{Subscription required}}
* {{Cite book|title=Iambic Ideas: Essays on a Poetic Tradition from Archaic Greece to the Late Roman Empire|chapter=Horace and Iambos: The Poet as Literary Historian|last=Barchiesi|first=Alessandro|year=2001|location=Lanham, MD|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hu5gxcuaCHoC&dq=barchiesi+horace+2001&pg=PA141|editor-last=Cavarzere|editor-first=Alberto|pages=141–64|isbn=9780742508170|author-link=Alessandro Barchiesi|editor2-last=Aloni|editor2-first=Antonio|editor3-last=Barchiesi|editor3-first=Alessandro}}
*{{Cite journal |title=The genre Palinode and Three Horatian Examples: ''Epode'' 17; ''Odes'' I, 16, ''Odes'' I, 34 |journal=L'Antiquité Classique |last=Cairns |first=Francis |issue=
* Clayman, D. L. (1975). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4348329 "Horace's Epodes VIII and XII: More than Clever Obscenity?"]. ''The Classical World'', 69(1), 55–61.
* {{Cite book|title=Horace. Satires, Epistles, Art of Poetry|last=Fairclough|first=H. R.|year=1926|location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=9780674992146 |url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL194/1926/volume.xml}} {{Subscription required}}
* {{Cite journal|title=Power and Impotence in Horace's Epodes|journal=Ramus|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ramus/article/power-and-impotence-in-horaces-epodes/4F9249832CA76662967ED9775F84939D|last=Fitzgerald|first=William|volume=17|pages=176–91|issue=2|year=1988|doi=10.1017/S0048671X00003143|s2cid=191884035 }} {{Subscription required}}
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[[Category:Poems about sexuality]]
[[Category:1st-century BC
[[Category:Poetry by Horace]]
[[Category:Satirical poems]]
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