Ovid and the Domus Augusta yourblessing:forofthetwoofyou,oneisagod,andonewillbe).Thislong
passagegainsallthemoresignificancefrombeingsoevidentlyadeliberate
insertioninthenewedition.
Thenewlydedicatedtempleof MarsUltorandthesurroundingForum
Augustumwere,ofcourse,toreceivetheirfullestliteraryexpositioninthe
Fasti(,–),ofwhichsixbookswerecompletedbeforeOvid’sexile,to
bepartiallyrevisedduringit.Littlemoreneedbesaidofthisworkhere,ex-
cepttonoteSyme’sdatingofthefirstversionto..–;^31 foritsstatusas
themostsystematicattemptatwritingpoetrywhichwasnotonly‘‘Augus-
tan,’’butwhichplacedthenewregimelaboriouslyintheframeworkofin-
heritedcultsandofnewlyrevivedantiquarianlearning,needsnoemphasis.
Tosaythisisnottodenythatnotensionsorambivalencesinthetreatmentof
Augustusandhisregimearepresentinthetext.^32 Itistoassertthatinitsover-
all,overtprogrammeandstructureitrepresentsanewphasein‘‘Augustan’’
literature.Ifwearetounderstandtherevolutionofconsciousnessbrought
aboutbytheemergenceofamonarchfromwithinthetraditionalres publica,
itishere,andnotwiththegreatwritersofageneration,orhalf-generation,
earlier,thatweshouldbegin.
As an ‘‘Augustan’’ work, theFastiinvolved both the evocation of an in-
herited (or reinvented) set of rituals, and a due emphasis on novelty, that
is,theroleofAugustus,ofthemembersofhishousehold,andofhisactual
domus(intheliteralsenseofa‘‘house’’)onthePalatine(e.g.,,–).But,
whileneverachievingtheintendedtwelvebooks(Tr.,–),thework
was none the less revised in exile, then acquiring (among other things) a
dedicationtoGermanicus.Likeotherworksoftheperiod,itthusfinishesup
byexhibitingasystematicuncertaintyastowhat,orwho,theproperfocus
ofloyaltyshouldbe.Thatobjectwasinanycaseamovingtarget,repeatedly
transformed bydeath, and by reversals of fortune among members of the
domus Augusta(inthesenseof‘‘household’’).SomeaspectsoftheFastiaswe
haveitwillevenreflectrevisionsmadeafterAugustus’owndeath.^33
If theFastisets out systematically to place Augustus within the frame-
. Syme(n.),–.
. See, e.g., A.Wallace-Hadrill, ‘‘Time for Augustus: Ovid, Augustus and theFasti,’’
inM.Whitby,P.Hardie,andM.Whitby,eds.,Homo Victor: Classical Essays for John Bramble
(),;theessayscollectedinArethusa.(),Reconsidering Ovid’s Fasti;andD.C.
Feeney,‘‘Si licet et fas est:Ovid’sFastiandtheProblemofFreeSpeechunderthePrincipate,’’
inA.Powell,ed.,Roman Poetry and Propaganda in the Age of Augustus(),.
. So,e.g.,G.Williams,Change and Decline: Roman Literature in the Early Empire(),
–—thoughIcannotseewhythemainpassagequoted,Fasti,–,musthavebeen
writtenafter...Fasti,–,isamuchclearercase(seetextton.).