Greek and Roman stories of origin, or aetia, provide a fascinating window onto ancient conceptions of time. Aetia pervade ancient literature at all its stages, and connect the past with the present by telling us which aspects of the past survive "even now" or "ever since then". Yet, while thestandard aetiological formulae remain surprisingly stable over time, the understanding of time that lies behind stories of origin undergoes profound changes. By studying a broad range of texts and by closely examining select stories of origin from archaic Greece, Hellenistic Greece, Augustan Rome,and early Christian literature, Time in Ancient Stories of Origin traces the changing forms of stories of origin and the underlying changing attitudes to time: to the interaction of the time of gods and men, to historical time, to change and continuity, as well as to a time beyond the present one.Walter provides a model of how to analyse the temporal construction of aetia, by combining close attention to detail with a view towards the larger temporal agenda of each work. In the process, new insights are provided both into some of the best-known aetiological works of antiquity (e.g. byHesiod, Callimachus, Vergil, Ovid) and lesser-known works (e.g. Ephorus, Prudentius, Orosius). This volume shows that aetia do not merely convey factual information about the continuity of the past, but implicate the present in ever new complex messages about time.

Time in Ancient Stories of Origin

Literature & Fiction

Walter, Anke

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

Festivals feature prominently in Latin literature, even in works that are not explicitly dedicated to festive days like Ovid's Fasti. Festivals in Latin Literature explores the role of festivals in elegiac, lyric, and epic poetry, as well as historiography. In all of these, festivals play a more pervasive role than has so far been realised. Tibullus' elegiac oeuvre rests on an interplay between amatory and festive poetics that even has a political meaning to it, and Propertius uses festivals in his fourth book of elegies to question, from an amatory perspective, the memory typically associated with some key Roman festivals. In the poetry of Sulpicia and Ovid's Tristia, festivals allow voices that are otherwise marginalised to shape their own fame and commemoration. Horace's Odes and the Carmen saeculare rest on an intriguing interplay of festivity in the private sphere, which forms but a fleeting and precious moment, and the monumentality of public festivals, in which the poet styles himself as a master of Roman time. Post-Vergilian Latin epicists use festivals to explore the fragility of human identity in a world dominated by the gods, in Ovid's Metamorphoses, and to question further the commemoration connected with festive days. In particular, Statius in his Thebaid undermines the foundational importance of festivals in the Aeneid, vividly staging the problematic meaning of festivals that convey a premature commemoration of an epic conflict that is unspeakable (nefas). Finally, in Livy's ab urbe condita and Tacitus' Histories, festivals both provide structure and capture long-term developments in Roman history, including Rome's rise to power and the collapse of its morals, while situating both works in broader historiographical and intertextual dialogues. The book sheds new light on these authors and works, uncovering their unique 'festive poetics'. It demonstrates that Latin literature adds important new aspects to our general understanding of festivals, which, as seen throughout the book, offer even richer avenues of creating meaning and shaping or questioning commemoration than is often assumed.

Festivals in Latin Literature: The Poetics of Celebration

Die drei flavischen Epen bilden keine monolithische Einheit: Valerius Flaccus, Statius und Silius Italicus haben unterschiedliche Auffassungen von der Form und Funktion epischen Erzählens. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht, welche persona des epischen Erzählers aus einem jeden dieser Werke spricht und wie die dargestellten Sänger- und Prophetenfiguren die Haltung dieses Erzählers widerspiegeln. Dabei zeigt sich auch, dass die Interaktion zwischen dem Erzähler und der von ihm dargestellten Welt dynamischer ist als häufig angenommen. Die flavischen Epen erscheinen als das Produkt einer Zeit, die mehr von Wandlung als von Gleichförmigkeit bestimmt ist und die immer neue literarische Antworten auf ihre sich ändernden Herausforderungen verlangt: Während Valerius Flaccus in seinem Epos den richtigen Weg zwischen Vergessen und Erinnern sucht, um in ein neues ,,episches Zeitalter" aufzubrechen, stellt Statius jede Fähigkeit des Epos, bleibende Erinnerungen an Ruhmestaten zu schaffen, in Frage. Silius Italicus nimmt eine moderatere Position ein, die einen neuen Ausgleich zwischen Erinnern und Vergessen schafft.

Erzählen und Gesang im flavischen Epos (Göttinger Forum für Altertumswissenschaft. Beihefte N.F., 5) (German Edition)

Walter de Gruyter

Kalle am Vogelhaus – Eine Wintergeschichte (German Edition)

Children's Books

Novum Verlag

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