Arhiva DE TRIZIO Maria Stella
Analele Ştiinţifice ale Universităţii “Ovidius” Constanţa nr.21 / 2010
DE TRIZIO MARIA STELLA - History, Rhetoric and Political “Opportunity” in the Encomium of Vestal (Ov. Pont. 4,7) (pag. 79-88)
The epistle 4.7 Ex Ponto, addressed to the primipilus Vestal, is of particular importance and worthy of study for three reasons. First, it is the only attestation of a historical episode that has no other evidence, that is the capture of Aegisos by Getae and the following reconquest of the Danubian city by the sovereign Cotys and Vestal himself (in 12 AD). It also represents an interesting document for literary scholars since, as pointed out (see eg Helzle 1989, 158), it seems to follow, although in part, the topical and stylistic features of the laudatory genre. Finally, it records Ovid’s attempt to ensure his amicitia with Vestal, a leading figure in the Tomis environment, whose support would, presumably, alleviate the hard conditions of the poet’s exile.