Taming Priapus: A New Reading of Horace's Satires 1.8
Michael Vincze
Boston University
mjvincze@bu.edu
Priapus both shocks and allures his readers on account of his sordid nature,
but what effect can Priapus make when this sordid nature has been removed? The
Priapus of Horace Satires 1.8 is no traditional Priapus: he is not sexually
threatening, he is a victim rather than an aggressor, he associates with witches
and the dead, and the rustic god is now in the middle of the city of Rome.
In my paper I argue that, Horace has created a literary anomaly that is perfectly
at home within the collection of Satires I. Previous analyses have overlooked
the details of Priapus' mutated character and merely allude to the sub-genre
of priapic poetry; however, by examining both the Hellenistic and Latin priapic
predecessors, it is striking to what extent Horace exploited the more obscure
aspects of the character of Priapus, and altered familiar topoi of priapea.
Horace has selected these particular elements of the priapic character to suit
his thematic purposes, chiefly to elaborate upon the themes of the efficacy
of laughter as well as altered human roles, which pervade the whole of Satires
I. Horace expects that his audience will be familiar with the traditional Priapus
and priapea and will understand that he has presented a freak of a Priapus.
When the audience recognizes these Horatian alterations, the humor and point
of the poem become clear: Horace's satires, like Horace's Priapus, are untraditional
- more sophisticated and more urbane. Satires I.8, therefore, functions as an
exemplum for the whole collection of Satires I, which illustrates that generic
norms can be altered and yet still deliver poems that are no less entertaining
or edifying.