A Roman poet transformed an unremarkable bird into a contested symbol of eroticism.
No sparrow has provoked as much affection or controversy as that commemorated by the Roman poet Catullus (c.84-54 BC). The pet of an unnamed
puella – presumably his beloved ‘Lesbia’ – the bird in question appears in two short verses, each written in charming hendecasyllables. In the first, Catullus addresses the sparrow (
passer) itself, as a means of discreetly declaring his affection for Lesbia. He recounts how tenderly she would hold it to her breast (
in sinu) whenever she felt the need to play a silly game, or to find relief from her sorrows, and notes that she received a sharp nip when she gave it a finger to peck. His only wish is that he could play with the sparrow like she does for then, he sighs, it might lighten the heavy cares weighing on his heart – most likely because of Lesbia’s indifference. The second poem is more sombre in tone. A lament on the sparrow’s death, i