In this poem we find ourselves in a culture very distant from our own. Phydile, whose name is Greek and implies thrift, is the woman responsible for the regular offerings and ceremonial due to the domestic gods of a modest home and estate in the country, and Horace is the master giving the necessary authority for the rituals. The tenses used at the end show that he is stating a general or proverbial rule there: Phydile, we know, is offering a pig; but even if she did not, her pious observance would be enough without one. The poem seems intended to express the deep affection and respect in which Horace holds the deep traditions and simple piety of the countryside and country people. Grain and salt appear because they were sprinkled on the victim prior to sacrifice, and the salt “jumps” in the fire on the altar.
See the illustrated blog post here.
Metre: Alcaics.
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