The Roman poet Catullus wrote emotional and sometimes tortured verse about and to his lover whom he nicknamed `Lesbia'. A metaphorical name, used to praise her intelligence and perhaps hide her identity, but was she a metaphorical person? The title could have been a name to symbolise an emotion or even a façade for a series of mistresses. The question is, does it actually matter whether she was a real person, several people or not in existence at all"

Firstly and simply there are certain aspects of the poems that will not alter whatever the subject matter. If one is studying the verse in order to learn about the technical and general style of Roman poetry then whether she is invented or not, this will not change and one will discover just as much. Of course, if one is...