The Myth of Paganism: Nonnus, Dionysus and the World of Late Antiquity

Shorrock, Robert

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0715636685 ISBN 13: 9780715636688

Casa editrice: Bristol Classical Pr, 2011

Traditional and still prevalent accounts of late antique literature draw a clear distinction between 'pagan' and 'Christian' forms of poetry: whereas 'Christian' poetry is taken seriously in terms its contribution to culture and society at large, 'pagan' or 'secular' poetry is largely ignored, as though it has no meaningful part to play within the late antique world. The Myth of Paganism sets out to deconstruct this view of two contrasting poetic traditions and proposes in its place a new integrated model for the understanding of late antique poetry. As the book argues, the poet of Christ and the poet of the Muses were drawn together into an active, often provocative, dialogue about the relationship between Christianity and the Classical tradition and, ultimately, about the meaning of late antiquity itself. An analysis of the poetry of Nonnus of Panopolis, author of both a 'pagan' epic about Dionysus and a 'Christian' translation of St John's Gospel, helps to illustrate this complex dialectic between 'pagan' and 'Christian' voices.

L'autore:

Robert Shorrock teaches Classics at Eton College, Windsor, and is co-editor of the journal Greece & Rome.

Product Description:

Book by Shorrock Robert