The Digression on Cyprus in Claudian’s Epithalamium de nuptiis Honorii et Mariae
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Spyridon Tzounakas
Abstract
In Claudian’s epithalamium for Honorius and Maria, which celebrates the marriage of the emperor to Stilocho’s daughter in 398 CE, Cupid visits Venus’ palace in Cyprus, and a significant part of the poem (lines 49-108) is dedicated to the description of the place. This ecphrasis constitutes a locus amoenus and facilitates Claudian’s intentions on multiple levels by auguring the felicitous marriage of Honorius and Maria and contributing to the laudatory tone of the poem. The allusions to a number of previous texts allow the poet to recall literary predecessors from various genres in order to accomplish his literary aims and promote his political agenda. Special emphasis is given to Vergil’s Eclogues 4, Tibullus’ elegy 1.3 and Lucan’s description of Cleopatra’s palace in the tenth book of his De Bello Civili. Claudian’s description is indicative of the way Cyprus is perceived in the Roman West during Late Antiquity, which seems, in turn, to have influenced later literature and established the image of Cyprus as a land comparable to the campi Elysii.
Abstract
In Claudian’s epithalamium for Honorius and Maria, which celebrates the marriage of the emperor to Stilocho’s daughter in 398 CE, Cupid visits Venus’ palace in Cyprus, and a significant part of the poem (lines 49-108) is dedicated to the description of the place. This ecphrasis constitutes a locus amoenus and facilitates Claudian’s intentions on multiple levels by auguring the felicitous marriage of Honorius and Maria and contributing to the laudatory tone of the poem. The allusions to a number of previous texts allow the poet to recall literary predecessors from various genres in order to accomplish his literary aims and promote his political agenda. Special emphasis is given to Vergil’s Eclogues 4, Tibullus’ elegy 1.3 and Lucan’s description of Cleopatra’s palace in the tenth book of his De Bello Civili. Claudian’s description is indicative of the way Cyprus is perceived in the Roman West during Late Antiquity, which seems, in turn, to have influenced later literature and established the image of Cyprus as a land comparable to the campi Elysii.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface and Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
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Part I: Cyprus in Latin Literature
- Cyprus and its Myths on the Roman Stage 13
- Venus on Cyprus: Interlinked Lists of Aphrodite’s Cypriot Sanctuaries in Latin Poetry 33
- Idalion, Satrachus and the Annales of Volusius: The Reception of Cyprus in the Carmina Catulli 51
- Nil desperandum …. cras ingens iterabimus aequor (Hor. Carm. 1.7): The Foundation of Salamis by a Bastard Archer as an Exemplum in Latin Literature 65
- Balance and Excess in Ovid’s Pygmalion Story 87
- Was Cyprus Special? The Case of Two Latin Poets 103
- Infamem nimio calore Cypron: Ancient Epigrams on Flacci in Cyprus 111
- The Digression on Cyprus in Claudian’s Epithalamium de nuptiis Honorii et Mariae 131
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Part II: Cyprus after Antiquity
- Venus and Adonis from Enheduanna to Shakespeare: The Significance of Ovid’s Cypriot Metamorphoses 153
- Pilgrims, Merchants and Lovers: The Island of Cyprus in Boccaccio’s Decameron (via Ovid’s Metamorphoses) 175
- Venus of Paphos in the Latin Poetry of the Quattrocento 201
- Ovid’s ‘Good’ Women: The Cypriot Exemplum Against the Background of the Statue (R)evolution 221
- Osmosis between High Genres: Ovid’s Tragic Formation of Myrrha’s Tale (Met. 10.298–502) and its Reception in Alfieri’s Homonymous Tragedy 249
- Travel, Classical Traditions and Empire: Western Travellers to Cyprus in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 265
- List of Contributors 289
- General Index 293
- Index Locorum 299
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface and Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- Introduction 1
-
Part I: Cyprus in Latin Literature
- Cyprus and its Myths on the Roman Stage 13
- Venus on Cyprus: Interlinked Lists of Aphrodite’s Cypriot Sanctuaries in Latin Poetry 33
- Idalion, Satrachus and the Annales of Volusius: The Reception of Cyprus in the Carmina Catulli 51
- Nil desperandum …. cras ingens iterabimus aequor (Hor. Carm. 1.7): The Foundation of Salamis by a Bastard Archer as an Exemplum in Latin Literature 65
- Balance and Excess in Ovid’s Pygmalion Story 87
- Was Cyprus Special? The Case of Two Latin Poets 103
- Infamem nimio calore Cypron: Ancient Epigrams on Flacci in Cyprus 111
- The Digression on Cyprus in Claudian’s Epithalamium de nuptiis Honorii et Mariae 131
-
Part II: Cyprus after Antiquity
- Venus and Adonis from Enheduanna to Shakespeare: The Significance of Ovid’s Cypriot Metamorphoses 153
- Pilgrims, Merchants and Lovers: The Island of Cyprus in Boccaccio’s Decameron (via Ovid’s Metamorphoses) 175
- Venus of Paphos in the Latin Poetry of the Quattrocento 201
- Ovid’s ‘Good’ Women: The Cypriot Exemplum Against the Background of the Statue (R)evolution 221
- Osmosis between High Genres: Ovid’s Tragic Formation of Myrrha’s Tale (Met. 10.298–502) and its Reception in Alfieri’s Homonymous Tragedy 249
- Travel, Classical Traditions and Empire: Western Travellers to Cyprus in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 265
- List of Contributors 289
- General Index 293
- Index Locorum 299
