Lesbia
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220719598
2008-06-21T06:38:06Z
121.127.95.253
Correct spelling - pseudonym
{{otheruses4|women in ancient Rome|the hummingbird genus|Lesbia (bird)}}
'''Lesbia''' was the pseudonym of the lover to whom the Roman [[poet]] [[Catullus|Gaius Valerius Catullus]] (84-54BC) dedicates a number of poems. Nothing is known about her other than what can be deduced from Catullus's poems. The name itself suggests literary and erotic connotations, evoking as it does the [[Lesbos Island]], where the famed poet [[Sappho]] lived. According to [[Apuleius]], a 2nd century author from Africa, 'Lesbia' was a pseudonym invented by Catullus - a common practice - whose real name was Clodia (see below). Lesbia is the subject of 25 of his 116 surviving poems, and these display a wide range of emotions (see [[Catullus 85]]), ranging from tender love (eg, [[Catullus 5]]), to sadness and disappointment, and to bitter sarcasm, following the often unsteady course of Catullus' relationship.
Lesbia is traditionally identified with the infamous [[Clodia]], prosecuted by [[Cicero]] in [[Pro Caelio]].
==References==
*Oxford Latin Reader, Maurice Balme and James Morewood (1997)
[[Category:Latin poetry]]
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