Un point de géographie horatienne: Rigidum Niphaten (Carm. 2.9.20)

Abstract

The nature of the Niphates mentioned by Horace in Carm. 2.9.20 has been controversial since ancient commentaries and has continued to stimulate debate among modern critics. If its location in Armenia is not questioned, some see it as a mountain, others think that it is a river or a people, and still others prefer to keep the ambiguity or not to express an opinion on the matter. A detailed review of the sources at our disposal, together with various elements taken from the text, its context and the structure of the poem, allows us to draw more definitive conclusions and to decide in favour of the first hypothesis.