Catullus And Properitus Comparison

In contrast to these ideals and the moral systems in place, elite women were able to find some power in their sexuality. The easiest way to see this is through love poetry. The poetry of Catullus and Properitus are good examples. These men were contemporaries who wrote about their love affairs, from inception to the break up and aftermath, during the late Republic. Catullus, writing about a woman he calls Lesbia, has a much more intense but almost naïve point of view, with his writing showing the highest highs and lowest lows in their relationship. Porperitus, on the other hand, writes more about the mundane aspects of his relationship with a woman he calls Cynthia. In both of their poetry, a woman seems to have real power in these relationships, …show more content…
Cynthia, Properitus’s lover, is even more independent and eschews propriety at almost all times, exceeding Lesbia’s violation of norms. However, this more than anything else seems to enamor Properitus to her even more. This highlights not only the morality of the time but also that these poems have the primary goal to entertain. Therefore, it is within Properitus’ best interests to portray Cynthia as someone outside the bounds of society to intrigue the reader. Cynthia is shown to be quarrelsome (Properitus 2006: 47), one who judge men based on their money (Properitus 2006: 149) and is educated enough to appreciate Properitus’ poetry (Properitus 2006: 137-139). She demands faithfulness from Properitus (Properitus 2006: 49-51, 73) and yet she, herself, cheats on him (Properitus 2006: 77-81) She has great independence, even able to travel abroad, to the point where Properitus is delighted when she chooses not to go (Properitus 2006: 61). Her promiscuity becomes a scandal in Rome and yet she does nothing to curb her actions, while Properitus vows that she will at least be remembered well (Properitus 2006: 117-119). Most damning in the eyes of traditional morality is that she and Properitus are overjoyed when a law requiring bachelors to get married is repealed because they …show more content…
One example of this is in the orations of Cicero. Throughout his career, Cicero criticized many women and their behaviors. More than just to showcase Roman morals, Cicero targeted these women because of the politics of the time. Cicero used women to attack his political opponents indirectly. Family honor was such a part of morality and society that to damage the reputation of one member affected the whole family. During this time of transition between Empire and Republic, family power ran the political sphere. So, Cicero’s attack on a woman’s behavior was really aimed at damaging the power of that family. It is generally agreed that, Cicero’s attack of Clodia in Pro Caelio is one of his most scathing and skillfully witty. Clodia, who was also the sister of a political rival of Cicero’s, has accused Caelius, who Cicero was defending, of taking her money and trying to poison her. In Pro Caelio, Cicero spends much of the trial making it about Clodia and her immoral behavior. Not only is Cicero concerned about morality, he has a political agenda as well. By damaging Clodia’s reputation in this trial, he will also damage the reputation of his political rival. Cicero and Clodia also have a history outside of this case and he had not liked her long before this incident (Crownover 1934: 146). It is in cases like these