Voting Station

Catullus

Please vote to return to collections.

Poet

The Resume

    (circa 84 BC-circa 54)
    Born in Verona
    Birth name is Gaius Valerius Catullus
    Resided mainly in Rome
    Best known for his love poems about his mistress Clodia (called ‘Lesbia’ by him)
    Also satirized Roman life in short verses or epigrams

Why he might be annoying:

    He angered Julius Caesar by calling him a ‘bitch-queen’ in a poem.
    His mistress Lesbia was a married woman ten years older than himself.
    Except for a year serving the governor of Bithynia, he never worked.
    He complained about being poor, yet he owned a villa.
    Cicero disliked his innovative poetry.
    He wrote crude, obscene verses about friends who offended him.
    He and his circle of friends distanced themselves from politics.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Unlike most Roman poets, he wrote of personal matters rather than epic heroes.
    He was distraught when Lesbia suddenly ended their affair.
    He was a fan of Sappho and revived interest in her work.
    He wrote a moving poem about his brother's death.
    Caesar forgave him when he apologized.
    Forgotten for centuries, he was rediscovered during the Middle Ages.
    He influenced many later poets including Ben Jonson, John Milton and William Wordsworth.

Credit: Georgina


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 18 Votes: 61.11% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 56 Votes: 69.64% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 21 Votes: 61.90% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 47 Votes: 53.19% Annoying