A Blight on the Pax Augusta: The Robigalia in Ovid’s Fasti

Ovid’s account of the Robigalia, the most detailed extant source for the festival, is also a poetic construct that exposes tensions underlying the pax Augusta. Ovid provides an unusual feminine characterization of Robigo, juxtaposing her with Ceres, and describing her destructive powers in ways that are both allusive and anthropomorphizing. The involvement of the flamen Quirinalis in the ritual introduces the warlike associations of Romulus/Quirinus. In addition, the placement of the festival within the calendrical structure of the month emphasizes the contrast between imperial anniversaries and a traditional agricultural goddess who threatens to put a “blight” on the pax Augusta.