Catullus vs Elegiae: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Latin Elegiac poetry, Latin Love poetry, Latin language, Poetry
Catullus
Includes an introduction to this Roman poet, selections from his poetry, vocabulary and grammatical notes, and glossaries on meters and figures of speech.
vs
Elegiae
“CYNTHIA was the first To capture with her eyes my pitiable self: Till then I was free from desire's contagion.”
Of all the Greek and Latin love poets, Propertius (c.50-10 BC) is one of those who perhaps holds most immediate appeal for the twentieth century reader. His helpless infatuation for the sinister figure of his mistress…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Elegiae is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 7 for Catullus.
- Elegiae has the widest readership — 201 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Catullus | Elegiae | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.9 (201) |
Reception
| Catullus | Elegiae | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 3 | 201 |
| Editions | 55 | 152 |
| Citations | 1 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | — | 1221 |
| Reading it now | — | 7 |
| Written reviews | — | 60 |
| Wikipedia attention | 7716 | — |
| Pages | 419 | 174 |