ABSTRACT
[I]n the late fifties, when Horace was in his teens, life in Rome was disrupted by riots and gang warfare. The political atmosphere grew steadily more oppressive until the storm of civil war broke in 49 bc. After Caesar’s assassination Horace joined Brutus and saw the carnage at Philippi “when bravery was smashed” (Odes 2.7.11). He returned to Italy under a general amnesty to find that his father had died and the family home had been confiscated.
