John Curran
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199739400
- eISBN:
- 9780199933006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199739400.003.0014
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, World History: BCE to 500CE, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter revisits several neglected aspects of an un-regarded late antique cento written in the city of Rome by the senatorial lady Proba. Specifically, it is suggested that the surviving text ...
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This chapter revisits several neglected aspects of an un-regarded late antique cento written in the city of Rome by the senatorial lady Proba. Specifically, it is suggested that the surviving text merits more significant consideration as an expression of the power and aspirations of self-defined Christians in the city of Rome, a group long-satirized by more highly regarded writers of the period but here appreciable on its own terms. It is argued that in the cento historians have a rare and valuable document for viewing the process (as opposed to the fact) of Christianization in the literary and aristocratic society of the city of Rome. An assessment of that society by one of its fiercest critics, S. Jerome, is revisited to reveal how closely he identified his satirical targets, and the circle of Proba in particular; and the literary connections between that society and Bishop Damasus are illuminated through an analysis of the bishop’s idiosyncratic literary pretensions. The chapter thus supplements recent academic discourse on the date and identity of Proba with some new and timely perspectives on her intentions and cultural milieu in the city of Rome at the end of antiquity.Less
This chapter revisits several neglected aspects of an un-regarded late antique cento written in the city of Rome by the senatorial lady Proba. Specifically, it is suggested that the surviving text merits more significant consideration as an expression of the power and aspirations of self-defined Christians in the city of Rome, a group long-satirized by more highly regarded writers of the period but here appreciable on its own terms. It is argued that in the cento historians have a rare and valuable document for viewing the process (as opposed to the fact) of Christianization in the literary and aristocratic society of the city of Rome. An assessment of that society by one of its fiercest critics, S. Jerome, is revisited to reveal how closely he identified his satirical targets, and the circle of Proba in particular; and the literary connections between that society and Bishop Damasus are illuminated through an analysis of the bishop’s idiosyncratic literary pretensions. The chapter thus supplements recent academic discourse on the date and identity of Proba with some new and timely perspectives on her intentions and cultural milieu in the city of Rome at the end of antiquity.
Barbara Weiden Boyd
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- December 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190680046
- eISBN:
- 9780190680077
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190680046.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval, World History: BCE to 500CE
The introduction sets out the major themes of the book and explains the terms used in the title: authority, repetition, and reception. Authority entails a comparison of Homer with Ovid, as created ...
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The introduction sets out the major themes of the book and explains the terms used in the title: authority, repetition, and reception. Authority entails a comparison of Homer with Ovid, as created and challenged by Ovid himself; this theme, articulated through the trope of paternity, of paternity centers on the relationship between father and son expressed both thematically and metatextually by Ovid. Repetition, a singular hallmark of Homeric oral compositional technique, features prominently in Ovid’s notional comparison with Homer, as a stylistic gesture to his model; it also serves as a way to set up an analogy between Ovid’s eagerness to be seen as a Homeric poet and the theme of erotic desire. Finally, the perspective of reception embraces the range of Ovid’s interpretation and revision of Homer. The introduction also explains why Ovid’s interaction with the poems of Virgil is treated only peripherally, and the primary emphasis is placed on Homer.Less
The introduction sets out the major themes of the book and explains the terms used in the title: authority, repetition, and reception. Authority entails a comparison of Homer with Ovid, as created and challenged by Ovid himself; this theme, articulated through the trope of paternity, of paternity centers on the relationship between father and son expressed both thematically and metatextually by Ovid. Repetition, a singular hallmark of Homeric oral compositional technique, features prominently in Ovid’s notional comparison with Homer, as a stylistic gesture to his model; it also serves as a way to set up an analogy between Ovid’s eagerness to be seen as a Homeric poet and the theme of erotic desire. Finally, the perspective of reception embraces the range of Ovid’s interpretation and revision of Homer. The introduction also explains why Ovid’s interaction with the poems of Virgil is treated only peripherally, and the primary emphasis is placed on Homer.
