| Abstract: | The sixth Roman ode of Horace has usually been dated to 29/28 B.C. from the reference to the great temple restoration programme in the first stanza. This dating, however, tends to affect our reading of the whole cycle. An ‘inner’ dramatic date deliberately established by the poet (post Actium but before 28 B.C.) should not be mistaken for the time of writing (after 28, probably about 25 B.C.). There are even calculated effects arising from the poet's use of a dramatic date. Moreover, the poem is not independent to the effect that it is a self‐contained expression of the poet's political stance. Its provoking diagnosis of contemporary society is a warning reflecting Augustus’ policy and paving the way for reforms. It is instructive to compare epode XVI, to which III 6 bears resemblances which seem to support the late dating of the epode (cf. the author's Horaz und Actium 1984). |
