Ovid, Amores 1.9 – Love and War

What is the central analogy in Ovid's Amores 1.9?

Ovid compares the experience of love to that of a soldier—both are filled with endurance, pain, and bravery.

What is Ovid’s central analogy?

“Militat omnis amans.” (Every lover is a soldier.) This famous line encapsulates the metaphor—love is a campaign, full of battles and strategy.

How are soldiers and lovers compared in Amores 1.9?

Ovid uses parallelism to align passionate lovers with risk-taking soldiers, as seen in the quote: 'quos petiit placidis quaerere rebus opes?' (Who seeks wealth in peaceful matters?).

How does Ovid parody Roman martial values?

Ovid alludes to martial values by comparing a soldier besieging cities to a lover approaching a girl's house, as in 'Ille graves urbes, hic durae limina noctis.' (One besieges cities, the other the threshold of hard nights.), mocking traditional seriousness.

Review

R: In 1.9, Ovid uses the military metaphor to legitimize the lover’s hardship—and to poke fun at traditional masculine roles.