SOURCE: An introduction to The "Monobiblios" of Propertius: An Account of the First Book of Propertius Consisting of a Text, Translation, and Critical Essay on Each Poem, D. S. Brewer Ltd., 1977, pp. 5-15.

In the following essay, Hodge and Buttimore provide an overview on the-life of Propertius, consider the dating of the poems in his first book, and discuss his use of mythological elements.

I

The life of Propertius and the biographical question.

We have very little external evidence for the life of Propertius, as is the case with most ancient poets. However, although he is not often clearly and anecdotally biographical in the manner of Horace, some information can be securely derived from the poems themselves. The date of his birth can be established within limits from what he says of himself in IV i 120 ff. There he implies that when he assumed the 'toga virilis' he...