Amazons Can Fight, Why Can't I? Propertius IV.4.43-50

 In this poem, the poet Propertius takes on the persona of Arethusa while she laments the absence of her absent husband Lycotas. Once again Propertius makes a stark contrast between gender roles for Roman women and women from other cultures.

Felix Hippolyte! Nuda tulit arma papilla
    et texit galea barbara molle caput.
Romanis utinam patuissent castra puellis!
    Essem militiae sarcina fida tuae,
Nec me tardarent Scythiae iuga, cum Pater altas
    Africus in glaciem frigore nectit aquas.
Omnis amor magnus, sed aperto in coniuge maior:
    hanc Venus, ut vivat, ventilat ipsa facem.

--Propertius, El. IV.3.43-50

Blessed Hippolyte! With naked breast she took up arms and covered her pretty little face with a barbaric helmet.

If only Romans allowed women to fight!

I would be a faithful follower of your camp; I wouldn’t be discouraged by the Scythian mountains, where the south wind freezes the water into ice.

All love is great, but it is even more potent in a spouse;

Venus herself nourishes this flame with her breath.

PROPERTIUS	MAP:
Name:  Sextus Propertius Date:  50 – 15 BCE Works:  Elegies	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Propertius was an Italian-born Roman lyric poet whose love poetry provides insight into the mores of Augustan Rome. Like Catullus and Tibullus, Propertius used a pseudonym for the object of his attention; many of his love poems were addressed to “Cynthia.”	GOLDEN AGE ROME