Catullus 64

Catullus' longest poem, it retains his famed linguistic witticisms while employing an appropriately epic tone.

Though ostensibly concerning itself with the marriage of Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis (parents of the famed Greek hero Achilles), a sizeable portion of the poem's lines is devoted to the desertion of Ariadne by the legendary Theseus.

Told through ecphrasis, or the depiction of events on inanimate objects, the bulk of the poem details Ariadne's agonized solace.

The poem relies heavily on the theme of nostalgia as Catullus reflects on what he believes are better times in Roman history.

The poem is written in dactylic hexameter, the meter of epic poetry, such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid.

Ariadne being discovered by Dionysos on the island of Naxos , where she was abandoned by Theseus after helping him kill the Minotaur . Ariadne is being crowned with stars , corresponding to the constellation Corona ("crown").