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. The Odes cover a range of subjects – Love, Friendship, Wine, Religion, Morality, Patriotism; poems of eulogy addressed to Augustus and his relations; and verses written on a miscellany of subjects and incidents, including the uncertainty of life, the cultivation of tranquility and contentment, and the observance of moderation or the “golden mean.”