Domitius Marsus

Domitius Marsus (/ˈmɑːrsəs/; died c. 15 BC) was a Latin poet, friend of Virgil and Tibullus, and contemporary of Horace.[1]

He survived Tibullus (died 19 BC), but was no longer alive when Ovid wrote (c. 12 AD) the epistle from Pontus (Ex Ponto, iv. 16) containing a list of poets. He was the author of a collection of epigrams called Cicuta ("hemlock") for their bitter sarcasm, and of a beautiful epitaph on the death of Tibullus;[2] of elegiac poems, probably of an erotic character; of an epic poem Amazonis; and of a prose work on wit (De urbanitate).[1]

Martial often alluded to Marsus as one of his predecessors, but he was never mentioned by Horace, although a passage in the Odes (iv. 4, 19) is supposed to be an indirect allusion to the Amazonis.[3][1]

References

1.  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Marsus, Domitius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 784. Citations:
   • J. A. Weichert, Poetarum latinorum vitae et reliquiae (1830)
   • R. Unger, De Dom. Marsi cicuta (Friedland, 1861)
2. For a critical appreciation of this epitaph see: Morgan, L. (2001). "Metre matters: some higher-level metrical play in Latin poetry". The Cambridge Classical Journal, 46, 99–120; pages 108–111.
3. M. Haupt, Opuscula, iii. 332