Re-Constructing Relationships: The Significance of Name and Place in Propertius 3.22

Abstract

Why does the Propertian speaker include a celebration of Rome,Elegy3.22, in his third book of love elegies? Why does he address himself to Tullus, a name that appeared the last time inElegy1.22, the closing poem of theMono-biblos?By paying attention to the nature of the elegy's topic rather than to the nature of the elegiac discourse, past and current Propertian scholarship fails to recognise the subtle and, at first sight, hidden links between the praise of Rome, the choice of the addressee, and the Propertian speaker's effort to re-locate himself in the realm of elegiac love and poetry inElegy3.22.Past scholarship has readElegy3.22 either as a palinode toElegy3.21, the Propertian speaker's decision to leave Rome, or as an indication that Cynthia has been substituted by Rome as another theme. The latter interpretation entailed a discussion about whetherElegy3.22 should be considered pro- or anti-Augustan or a sincere but unsuccessful elegiac tribute to Rome. All contributions offer hermeneutic readings that stem from a time before the critical tools of the ‘New Latin’ movement provided new possibilities for the re-contextuali ation of Roman poetry. Furthermore, both the past and the most recent interpretations ofElegy3.22 are theme-centred as they focus on the praise of Rome, and not on the nature of the Propertian speaker's discourse.