Fasti (poem) - Poetic Models

Poetic Models

The earliest classical calendrical poem which might have inspired Ovid is the Works and Days of Hesiod, which includes mythological lore, astronomical observations, and an agricultural calendar. For the astronomical sections, Ovid was preceded by Aratus' Phaenomena as well as lost poetry on constellations and probably Germanicus' adaptation of Aratus (Fasti 1.17–27). The most significant influence on Ovid were the Roman fasti, the Roman calendrical lists, which included dates, notices of festivals, ritual prohibitions and proscriptions, anniversaries of important events, and sometimes aetiological material. Ovid often mentions consulting these calendars, such as his reference at 1.11 to pictos fastos and his references to the actual annotation marks of the calendar. The most important of these calendars for Ovid were probably the Fasti Praenestini, a contemporary calendar constructed and annotated by the grammarian Verrius Flaccus, whose fragments include much ritual material that can be found in Ovid's poem. The concept of putting these calendars into verse however, seems to be a uniquely Ovidian concept.

Besides his use of calendars and astronomical poetry, Ovid's multi-generic, digressive narrative and learned poem depends on the full range of ancient poetry and prose. In this, one of the most important works for Ovid was Callimachus' Aetia; the use of divine interlocutors, elegiac meter, various generic registers, and a focus on explaining the origins of customs and festivals are all significant features of Callimachus' work. The Fourth Book of Propertius, who claimed to be the Roman Callimachus, might also be a model since it also deals with aetiologies of Roman customs and myths. His etymologizing implies an interest in Roman antiquarianism, particularly the works of Varro on etymology and Roman religion. He similarly makes use of much Roman history writing, which must include lost historical poetry as well as the annal tradition (Ovid says in the prologue that one of his sources are ancient annals (annalibus ... priscis (1.7)). In his longer narrative sections, Ovid makes use of tragedy, epic poetry, elegy, and Hellenistic mythological poems. For some episodes, the sources Ovid used are untraceable. On the Roman side, Ovid particularly focuses on and employs Virgil's Aeneid and Eclogues, most notably in the long section on Anna in Book 3. As in the Metamorphoses, Ovid's use of Virgil is multifaceted; he often prefers to invert or abbreviate Virgil's episodes. Ovid will regularly deliberately pass over material covered in the Aeneid and expand a small section or a neglected episode into an elaborate narrative.