Ausonius, Mosella: a Trip to Burdigala (Bordeaux)
Ausonius, Mosella: a Trip to Burdigala (Bordeaux)

Summary/Abstract: Our paper focuses on one of the most valuable writings of Late Latin literature—the poem “Mosella” by Decimus Magnus Ausonius. The voyage figures prominently in ancient classical literature. From Homer’s Odyssey, through Vergil’s Eneid, to Ovid’s Tristia, or Apuleius’ Golden Ass, it gained multiple meanings as initiation, travel back in time, union with nature, entertainment, or as expiation, etc. In his poem, Ausonius describes his voyage down the Mosella river to Burdigala (now Bordeaux), his birthplace. It gives the poet the chance of an incursion into the past, of evoking battles, heroic moments in the history of these lands in south Gaul, conquered by the Romans. Ausonius also shows a strong interest in the beasts that people the aquatic space, and creates interesting portraits of the creatures from the depths of the river with an artist’s eye, and at the same time, with the precision of a scientist.

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