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{{Short description|Latin poem by Ovid (8 AD)}}
[[File:Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 090.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo|Tiepolo]]'s ''Triumph of [[Flora (mythology)|Flora]]'' (''ca.'' 1743), a scene based on the ''Fasti'', Book 4<ref>[[T.P. Wiseman]], ''The Myths of Rome'' (University of Exeter Press, 2004), pp. 1–11.</ref>]]{{Italic title}}▼
{{Italic title}}
The '''''Fasti''''' (traditionally known in English as the "Book of Days") is a six-book [[Latin literature|Latin poem]] written by the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] poet [[Ovid]] and published in 8 AD. Ovid is believed to have left the ''Fasti'' incomplete when he was exiled to [[Constanța|Tomis]] by the emperor [[Augustus]] in 8 AD. Written in [[elegiac couplet]]s and drawing on conventions of [[ancient Greek literature|Greek]] and Latin [[didactic poetry]], the ''Fasti'' is structured as a series of eye-witness reports and interviews by the [[grammatical person|first-person]] ''[[vates]]'' ("poet-prophet" or "bard") with [[List of Roman deities|Roman deities]], who explain the origins of [[Religious festival#Ancient Roman religious festivals|Roman holidays]] and associated customs—often with multiple [[aetiology|aetiologies]]. The poem is a significant, and in some cases unique, source of fact in studies of [[religion in ancient Rome]]; and the influential anthropologist and [[myth and ritual|ritualist]] [[J.G. Frazer]] translated and annotated the work for the [[Loeb Classical Library]] series. Each book covers one month, January through June, of the [[Roman calendar]], and was written several years after [[Julius Caesar]] replaced the old system of Roman time-keeping with what would come to be known as the [[Julian calendar]].▼
▲[[File:Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 090.jpg|thumb|350px|[[Giovanni Battista Tiepolo|Tiepolo]]'s ''Triumph of [[Flora (mythology)|Flora]]'' (
▲The '''''Fasti''''' (
The popularity and reputation of the ''Fasti'' has fluctuated more than that of any of Ovid's other works. The poem was widely read in the 15th–18th centuries, and influenced a number of mythological paintings in the tradition of [[Western art]].<ref>Wiseman, ''The Myths of Rome'', p 3.</ref> However, as scholar Carole E. Newlands has observed, throughout the 20th century "anthropologists and students of Roman religion … found it full of errors, an inadequate and unreliable source for Roman cultic practice and belief. Literary critics have generally regarded the ''Fasti'' as an artistic failure."{{sfn|Newlands|1995|p=2}} In the late 1980s, however, the poem enjoyed a revival of scholarly interest and a subsequent reappraisal; it is now regarded as one of Ovid's major works,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_i0UKDft1QC&pg=PA195|title=Clio and the Poets: Augustan Poetry and the Traditions of Ancient Historiography|page=195|editor1-last=Levene|editor1-first=David S.|editor2-last=Nelis|editor2-first=Damien P.|publisher=BRILL|date=2002|isbn=9004117822}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIcTh38bBIQC|title=The Student's Ovid: Selections from the Metamorphoses|page=20|editor-last=Musgrove|editor-first=Margaret Worsham|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|date=2000|isbn=0806132205}}</ref> and has been published in several new English translations. Ovid was exiled from Rome for his subversive treatment of Augustus, yet the ''Fasti'' continues this treatment<!-- with, for example, -->—which has led to the emergence of an argument in academia for treating the ''Fasti'' as a politically weighted work.▼
▲The popularity and reputation of the ''Fasti'' has fluctuated more than that of any of Ovid's other works. The poem was widely read in the 15th–18th centuries, and influenced a number of mythological paintings in the tradition of [[Western art]].<ref>Wiseman, ''The Myths of Rome'', p 3.</ref> However, as scholar [[Carole E. Newlands]] has observed, throughout the 20th century "anthropologists and students of Roman religion … found it full of errors, an inadequate and unreliable source for Roman cultic practice and belief. Literary critics have generally regarded the ''Fasti'' as an artistic failure."{{sfn|Newlands|1995|p=2}} In the late 1980s, however, the poem enjoyed a revival of scholarly interest and a subsequent reappraisal; it is now regarded as one of Ovid's major works,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_i0UKDft1QC&pg=PA195|title=Clio and the Poets: Augustan Poetry and the Traditions of Ancient Historiography|page=195|editor1-last=Levene|editor1-first=David S.|editor2-last=Nelis|editor2-first=Damien P.|publisher=BRILL|date=2002|isbn=9004117822}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TIcTh38bBIQC|title=The Student's Ovid: Selections from the Metamorphoses|page=20|editor-last=Musgrove|editor-first=Margaret Worsham|publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]]|date=2000|isbn=0806132205}}</ref> and has been published in several new English translations. Ovid was exiled from Rome for his subversive treatment of Augustus, yet the ''Fasti'' continues this treatment<!-- with, for example, -->—which has led to the emergence of an argument in academia for treating the ''Fasti'' as a politically weighted work.
==Composition==▼
▲==Composition==
Only the six books which concern the first six months of the year are extant. It may be that Ovid never finished it, that the remaining half is simply lost, or that only six books were intended. Ovid apparently worked on the poem while he was in exile at Tomis. The ''[[Tristia]]'', a collection of elegiac letters on the poet's exile, mentions the ''Fasti'', and that its completion had been interrupted by his banishment from Rome. Ovid also mentions that he had written the entire work, and finished revising six books. However, no ancient source quotes even a fragment from the supposedly six missing books.
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==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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/calendar/praenestini.html|title=Fasti Praenestini (Praeneste calendar)|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> The concept of putting these calendars into verse however, seems to be a uniquely Ovidian concept.<ref name="ghb">{{cite book|first= Geraldine |last= Herbert-Brown
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]]' ''
==Contents==
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===February (Book 2)===
Ovid opens book 2 with an etymological derivation of February from ''februa'' (instruments of purification) (1–54). He continues relating several shorter narratives, including the stories of [[Arion]] and the dolphin (79–118), Augustus' assumption of the title ''pater patriae'' (119-148), the myth of [[Callisto (mythology)|Callisto]] (153–192), the fall of the [[Fabii]] at the [[battle of
===March (Book 3)===
The third book is dedicated by Ovid to [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], the patron of the month; in connection to the god, the poet narrates the rape of [[Rhea Silvia|Silvia]], the birth and discovery of Romulus and Remus, and ends with a discussion of March as the former first month of the year (1–166). Next, the poet interviews Mars who tells the story of [[the rape of the
===April (Book 4)===
April begins with the appearance of Venus, who chides Ovid for his abandonment of erotic elegy; Ovid goes on to trace the genealogy of the Roman kings and Augustus from Venus and ends with a celebration of Venus as the goddess of creation (1–132). The first long episode of the book is the festival of the [[Magna Mater]], the [[Ludi Megalenses]]. For this festival Ovid recounts the birth of [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]'s children, the castration of [[Attis]], the goddess' transfer to Rome, and the story of [[Claudia Quinta]] (179–375). The next narrative, which is the longest and most elaborate in the ''Fasti'' describes the [[
===May (Book 5)===
This book opens with the presentation by the Muses of three etymologies for the name of the month: the goddess Maiestas, the Roman elders (''maiores''), and [[Maia (mythology)|Maia]] the mother of [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] (1–110). Ovid is unable to decide on a correct etymology. In the next section the goddess [[Flora (mythology)|Flora]] appears and discusses her origin, her help in Juno's conceiving of a child, and the political origin of her games (159–378). The next notable narrative discusses the rituals of the [[Lemuria (festival)|Lemuria]] and the funeral of Remus (419–490). The birth of Orion from the urine (''ouron'') of the gods comes next (493–544). This is followed by the origin of the [[Temple of Mars Ultor]] (545–598), the end of human sacrifice at Rome (603–662), the worship of Mercury (663–692), and the death of [[Castor and Pollux|Castor]] and [[Castor and Pollux|Pollux]] (693–720).
===June (Book 6)===
The sixth book begins with a prologue in which the goddesses Juno and Juventas ([[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]]) dispute over which goddess the month is named after (1–100). Ovid goes on to relate the story of the affair of Carna, the goddess of hinges, and Janus as well as the story of how Proca was defended from murderous owls by Cranae (101–195). The next large narrative is the discussion of iconography and aetiology of the [[Vestalia]], the festival of Vesta. The cosmic identification of Vesta with the earth, the story of Priapus' attempted rape, the origin of the altar of Jupiter Pistoris (of the bakers) in the Gallic invasion of Rome, and the rescue of the [[Palladium (classical antiquity)|Palladium]] by Metellus in a fire at the temple are recounted (249–468). A short astronomical notice precedes the long discussion of the [[Matralia]] in which Ovid explains the origin of the cult of [[Mater Matuta]] who as [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]] journeyed to Italy and was made a goddess (473–569). This is followed by the story of the murder of King [[Servius Tullius]], a lover of Mater Matuta. The [[Lesser Quinquatrus]]' legend follows about the exile and return of Roman flute players (649–710). The final notable episodes of the poem are the punishment of [[Aesculapius]] (733–762) and the praise of [[Marcia (given name)|Marcia]] by Clio (797–812).
==Missing books==
Though Ovid mentions he had written twelve books, no verified ancient text has been discovered with even a quotation from the alleged books for July through December (books 7 to 12).<ref>Laurel Fulkerson, Ovid: A Poet on the Margins. Bloomsbury, 2016, p.13</ref> In 1504 the eccentric humanist and classical text collector [[Conrad Celtes]] claimed to have discovered the missing books in a German monastery. He wrote a letter about the books to the Venetian publisher [[Aldus Manutius]], who insisted on seeing them himself before signing a contract.<ref>Christopher S. Wood, Forgery, Replica, Fiction: Temporalities of German Renaissance Art. University Of Chicago Press, 2008, p.8</ref> The purported missing verses had actually been composed by an 11th-century monk, were known to the [[Empire of Nicaea]] and had allegedly informed a popular harvest festival under the reign of [[John III Doukas Vatatzes]], but even so, many contemporaries of Celtes believed him, and classical scholars continued to write about the existence of the missing books until well into the 17th century.<ref>Angela Fritsen, Antiquarian Voices: The Roman Academy and the Commentary Tradition on Ovid’s Fasti (Text and Context). Ohio State University Press, 2015</ref>
==Critical responses==
===Politics===
While Carole E. Newlands wrote in 1995 that the poem had suffered by comparison with other works of Ovid,{{sfn|Newlands|1995|p=3}} ''Fasti''
A current trend in ''Fasti'' scholarship has been towards
Earlier scholars posited that the imperial festivals are actually the central focus of the poem embedded in an elaborated frame of charming stories which serve to draw attention to the "serious" imperial narratives — a concept which Herbert-Brown argues against while taking a less subversifying position than Newlands. Herbert-Brown argues that Ovid's main consideration is versifying the calendar; although some sections may be subversive, Herbert-Brown believes that for the most part Ovid's poem harmonizes with imperial ideology in an attempt to gain favor with the imperial household from exile. Seemingly problematic passages reflect mythological ambiguities that Ovid is playing with rather than subversion of the imperial family, and his burlesque treatments of religion are part of an established Roman attitude. An architectural framework is posited by Herbert-Brown who feels that the poem is structured around the great contemporary architectural monuments of Rome.<ref name="ghb"/>
==Poetics==
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'''Bibliography'''
* {{cite book|url=https://
==External links==
* [http://www.tonykline.co.uk/PITBR/Latin/Fastihome.htm English translation] by [[A. S. Kline]] (2004)
* [http://bcs.fltr.ucl.ac.be/FASTAM/F0-Intro.html French translation with notes] by Anne-Marie Boxus and Jacques Poucet (2004)
* [
* {{librivox book | title=The Fasti | author=Publius (Ovid) OVIDIUS NASO}}
{{Ovid}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Poetry by Ovid]]
[[Category:Roman calendar]]
[[Category:Works based on classical mythology]]
[[Category:Works about festivals]]
[[Category:Books about religion]]
[[Category:Unfinished poems]]
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