ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 analysed the themes around which Golden Age and decline narratives were set out through the prism of the Greek myth of races, and Chapter 3 the specific ways in which Roman writers saw their own moral collapse – most prominently through luxury, ostentation and sexual depravity. This chapter investigates some of the metaphors of decline which Roman writers use to express their sense of despair and the impression that the present is a depleted form of the past. The images of rust and decay occur frequently in literary texts: they convey ideas of loss and deterioration, and suggest a form which is no longer fit for its original use. These metaphors allow for a re-exploration of the Hesiodic tradition, and play a distinct role in relation to the significant themes of agriculture and warfare.
