Horace’s Carmen 3.27 has been subject to various interpretations. Being at first glance a sympathetically written propempticon to Galatea, the ode on closer inspection shows many negative undertones: The omens in the first stanzas are ambiguous, the sea will be stormy (literally and metaphorically), and even in the illustrating myth of Europa negative aspects predominate, above all her desperation, which two delusive deities, Jupiter the adulterer and a perfidum ridens Venus, do not really help to end. Europa’s beguilement by Jupiter (...) serves as a warning to the beloved Galatea: The rival whom she is about to follow over the sea might be as philandering as the adulterous god. (shrink)

Journal Name: Philologus Issue: Ahead of print.

Journal Name: Philologus Issue: Ahead of print.