Apuleius identifies her as a woman named Hostia, and Propertius suggests she is a descendent of the Roman poet Hostius. Scholars guess that she was probably a courtesan. Propertius frequently compliments her as docta puella 'learned girl', and, like Sulpicia, she herself was a writer of verse. Their affair veers wildly between emotional extremes, and as a lover she clearly dominates his life at least through the publication of the third book: “...
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Apuleius identifies her as a woman named Hostia, and Propertius suggests she is a descendent of the Roman poet Hostius. Scholars guess that she was probably a courtesan. Propertius frequently compliments her as docta puella 'learned girl', and, like Sulpicia, she herself was a writer of verse. Their affair veers wildly between emotional extremes, and as a lover she clearly dominates his life at least through the publication of the third book: “...