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At a time when it seems equally possible that Rome may find peace or slide back into disastrous civil war, Horace addresses a heartfelt prayer to Fortuna, a Goddess who can be both kindly and remorselessly cruel. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

As well as the messenger of the Gods, Mercury was an incorrigible, but irresistibly playful, thief. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Horace complains to a promising young soldier – via his girlfriend, Lydia – that his preoccupation with her is ruining him. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Love is often unrequited, unfortunately, but that is just the way it is, says Horace. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here: see the illustrated blog post here.

Greece is beautiful, says Horace, but Tibur – home of the Famous Plancus – is more beautiful still, says Horace. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Praise of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, is an early and persistent theme in Horace’s Odes. Hear an early example in Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post with a magnificent cameo portrait of Augustus here.

This ode takes the form of an invocation to Venus, the Goddess of love – and sex. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Horace pokes fun at Iccius, who sets himself up as a student of philosophy, for abandoning it to seek a profit from military service. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Horace wants to honour his friend Lamia with a floral garland. What better form could it take than a poem, woven from the divine gifts of the muses and his own poetic skill?

Hear Horace’s original Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.