Larger than life: Intertextuality between the poetry of Callimachus and the second book of Horace's Epistles

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The aim of this paper is to underline the intertextual ties of the second book of the Horatian Epistles with the poetry of Callimachus. Horace is markedly inspired by the Alexandrian way of writing, both in choosing the form of the collection and in the manner that he uses some of the common motifs found in the Epistles. In other words, most of the famous motifs of Callimachus, such as the ὀλιγοστιχία and the need for originality that Callimachus declares in the prologue of Aitia are firmly present, yet they undergo transformation in Horace's poetry.