Abstract:
The Kalends of March (March 1st) was a day of diverse thematic potential for Roman writers. Nowhere is this expressed more thoroughly than in Ovid’s Fasti, a poem devoted to day-byday investigation of the Roman calendar. This lengthy passage ranges over a wide variety of topics, from contemporary religion to ancient history to technical numerical details; and seems to revel in paradox and antithesis between war and peace, masculine and feminine, old and new. This thesis captures Ovid’s multifaceted treatment of the day through a commentary on the Kalends of March, covering Fasti 3.1-398. The first part of this thesis presents introductory material which provides useful context for the commentary. This consists of an introduction to the main characteristics, themes and issues of the Fasti; and a discussion of the genre of academic commentary, the history of commentary on the Fasti and the position of this study. The second part is dedicated to the commentary, providing close, line-by-line analysis of Fasti 3.1-398. The commentary’s major focus is literary interpretation of the Latin text, but extends to cultural, historical, political and other matters where the context demands.