Agnieszka Dziuba, Klodia Metelli. Literacki portret patrycjuszki, Wydawnictwo KUL, Lublin 2016, ss. 320 [recenzja]

The recent book by Agnieszka Dziuba will be appreciated by both the ancient historians and the classical scholars in Poland for, as a monograph of a Roman woman, it has no antecedent. The study concerns Clodia’s background (“Clodia in historiography”), her portrayal by Cicero in the speech In Defense of M. Caelius Rufus, and her depiction in Catullus’ poetry. In the latter case, the author had to assume that in some of the poems Lesbia can be identified with Clodia Metelli. Despite some minor misrepresentations and misprints, the book is a sound analysis of the literary texts featuring the eponymous character. In addition, it offers a lively picture of the role women played in the Roman aristocratic society.

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