Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Odes (Latin Carmina) are a collection in four books of Latin lyric poems by Horace. Books 1 to 3 were published in 23 BC. According to the journal Quadrant, they were "unparalleled by any collection of lyric poetry produced before or after in Latin literature". A fourth book, consisting of 15 poems, was published in 13 BC. The Odes were developed as a conscious imitation of the short lyric poetry of Greek originals. Pindar, Sappho and Alcaeus are some of Horace''s models; his genius lay in applying these older forms to the social life of Rome in the age of Augustus.