historians, although some of them have questioned or doubted the veracity of
Ovid’s descriptions (Syme 1978).
Among other things, in “Tristia” Ovid confessed that in the lands where he had
been exiled, i.e. the Roman province of “Scythia Minor” (Dobrogea), there lived the
northern tribes of Thracians, namely the Getae and the Scythians, but that – hearing
them speaking – he found that he could write only “Getic verses” (Wheeler 1939),
i.e. only in the language of the Getae.
Why did not Ovid write “verses” in the Scythians’ language? The philologists’
researches – from the country and abroad – come to confirm that the Getic language
was – in terms of the lexical fund – similar to Latin.
For example, L. I. Cues ¸dean tells us that the Romanian language “does not
originate from Rome but from its Getic roots, present in stem morphemes . . .”, and
that “the vocabulary of different Latin dialects spoken by the Getae” was unified “in
one literary language, Latin”, by “the Latin teachers from the schools in Rome. . .”
(Cues ¸dean 2012).
As such, Geto-Dacians did not have to learn the Latin imposed by Emperor
Trajan and by the Roman troops – who had conquered them “manu military” in
106 p. Chr. n. They continued to speak the language of their ancestors, i.e. the
Thracian-Geto-Dacian language, that – over time – received some influences not
only from the Latin spoken in “Latium”, but also from the Greek and the Slavic
languages, i.e. the languages of the tribes that had to cohabit for centuries to come.
Due to the relatedness of the two languages, namely the Latin and the Getic (the
Geto-Dacian language) languages, not only did Ovid learn to speak the GetoDacians’ language, but he also wrote poems in it – in ancient meter – even in his
early years of exile, at Tomis, where he lived for about 11 years. Nevertheless, here
is what Ovid himself tells us in this regard:
“. . . Nec te mirari, si sint vitiosa, decebit carmina, quae faciam paene poe ¨ta
Getes . . . et Getico scripsi sermone libellum, / structaque sunt nostris barbara
verba modis: et placui (gratare mihi) coepique poe ¨tae / inter inhumanos nomen
habere Getas” (Nor should you wonder if my verse prove faulty, for I am almost a
Getic poet . . . I have written a poem in the Getic tongue, setting barbarian words to
our measures: I even found favour – congratulate me! – and began to achieve
among the uncivilized Getae the name of poet) (Pontic Epistles IV, 13, 19–20)
(Wheeler 1939). In other words, the verses of this “booklet” – written in the
language of the Tomitae, i.e. the Geto-Dacians – were displayed in the Latin
“meter”, having thus the rhyme and the rhythm of the classical Latin poetry.
Was the creation of that “libellus” (Cf. Tristia, V, 7, 59–60) (booklet, opusculum) of poems – which helped Ovid acquire the name of poet among “inhumanos
Getias” (inhuman Getae) – triggered by the inspiration of that “foreign muse”
(Pont. IV, Epist. XIII), to which the poet himself made express reference?! If we
were to believe his words, we could admit that this “foreign Muse” – that made and
helped him learn the Getic language and write poems in it – was not an ideationalpoetic one; on the contrary, she was one of the daughters of these “inhuman Getae”
(sic), who charmed him both by the beauty of her body and by her clever mind. This
Getic daughter might have had a noble origin, even a royal one, and she might have
70
N.V. Dura ˘
Ovid’s descriptions (Syme 1978).
Among other things, in “Tristia” Ovid confessed that in the lands where he had
been exiled, i.e. the Roman province of “Scythia Minor” (Dobrogea), there lived the
northern tribes of Thracians, namely the Getae and the Scythians, but that – hearing
them speaking – he found that he could write only “Getic verses” (Wheeler 1939),
i.e. only in the language of the Getae.
Why did not Ovid write “verses” in the Scythians’ language? The philologists’
researches – from the country and abroad – come to confirm that the Getic language
was – in terms of the lexical fund – similar to Latin.
For example, L. I. Cues ¸dean tells us that the Romanian language “does not
originate from Rome but from its Getic roots, present in stem morphemes . . .”, and
that “the vocabulary of different Latin dialects spoken by the Getae” was unified “in
one literary language, Latin”, by “the Latin teachers from the schools in Rome. . .”
(Cues ¸dean 2012).
As such, Geto-Dacians did not have to learn the Latin imposed by Emperor
Trajan and by the Roman troops – who had conquered them “manu military” in
106 p. Chr. n. They continued to speak the language of their ancestors, i.e. the
Thracian-Geto-Dacian language, that – over time – received some influences not
only from the Latin spoken in “Latium”, but also from the Greek and the Slavic
languages, i.e. the languages of the tribes that had to cohabit for centuries to come.
Due to the relatedness of the two languages, namely the Latin and the Getic (the
Geto-Dacian language) languages, not only did Ovid learn to speak the GetoDacians’ language, but he also wrote poems in it – in ancient meter – even in his
early years of exile, at Tomis, where he lived for about 11 years. Nevertheless, here
is what Ovid himself tells us in this regard:
“. . . Nec te mirari, si sint vitiosa, decebit carmina, quae faciam paene poe ¨ta
Getes . . . et Getico scripsi sermone libellum, / structaque sunt nostris barbara
verba modis: et placui (gratare mihi) coepique poe ¨tae / inter inhumanos nomen
habere Getas” (Nor should you wonder if my verse prove faulty, for I am almost a
Getic poet . . . I have written a poem in the Getic tongue, setting barbarian words to
our measures: I even found favour – congratulate me! – and began to achieve
among the uncivilized Getae the name of poet) (Pontic Epistles IV, 13, 19–20)
(Wheeler 1939). In other words, the verses of this “booklet” – written in the
language of the Tomitae, i.e. the Geto-Dacians – were displayed in the Latin
“meter”, having thus the rhyme and the rhythm of the classical Latin poetry.
Was the creation of that “libellus” (Cf. Tristia, V, 7, 59–60) (booklet, opusculum) of poems – which helped Ovid acquire the name of poet among “inhumanos
Getias” (inhuman Getae) – triggered by the inspiration of that “foreign muse”
(Pont. IV, Epist. XIII), to which the poet himself made express reference?! If we
were to believe his words, we could admit that this “foreign Muse” – that made and
helped him learn the Getic language and write poems in it – was not an ideationalpoetic one; on the contrary, she was one of the daughters of these “inhuman Getae”
(sic), who charmed him both by the beauty of her body and by her clever mind. This
Getic daughter might have had a noble origin, even a royal one, and she might have
70
N.V. Dura ˘