Secular Hymn

work by Horace

Also known as: “Carmen saeculare”

Learn about this topic in these articles:

In Horace: Life
…17 bc he composed the Secular Hymn (Carmen saeculare) for ancient ceremonies called the Secular Games, which Augustus had revived to provide a solemn, religious sanction for the regime and, in particular, for his moral reforms of the previous year. The hymn was written in a lyric metre, Horace having…
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In Horace: Influences, personality, and impact of Horace
And so the Secular Hymn contains a specific allusion (poetically not altogether successful) to these reforms.
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In Secular Games
…composed his Carmen saeculare (Secular Hymn). Other celebrations, also commemorating the founding of Rome, took place in ad 47, 88, 147, 204, 248, and 262. In 1300 they were revived by Pope Boniface VIII and called the papal jubilees.
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