A bimillennium is more than a chronological marker; it is a "purely notional" yet powerful opportunity for systematic reassessment. The early 21st century has witnessed a cluster of these anniversaries, most notably the 2,000th anniversary of the death of Augustus (AD 14–2014) and the death of Ovid (AD 17–2017). These milestones have sparked a "wave of new and creative scholarly interest," prompting historians and classicists to move beyond traditional hagiography toward more complex, "disfigured," or "globalized" interpretations of Roman legacy. The Augustan Bimillennium (2014)
The following paper explores the cultural and scholarly impact of these 2,000-year milestones, specifically focusing on the recent commemorations of Augustus and the poet Ovid. bimillennium
Scholars used the occasion to ask how Augustus’ "equivocal and contradictory career" has been received across different cultural contexts. A bimillennium is more than a chronological marker;
The bimillennium of Ovid’s Fasti (a calendar poem) was celebrated by scholars like Geraldine Herbert-Brown, who noted that while the exact date of the poem’s "anniversary" is debatable, the bimillennial volume served as a critical "timely" update to Ovidian studies. The "Bimillennium Vergilianum" (1930) most notably the 2
Programs like Commemorating Augustus aimed to help educators find "new practical tips" for teaching his complex history in schools.
While Augustus represents the political architect of the era, the bimillennium of the poet Ovid focused on the endurance of his literary "transfiguration".