Papers by Thomas Tsartsidis
Mnemosyne
In Peristephanon 14, Prudentius creates an inventive verse rendering of the martyrdom of Agnes. I... more In Peristephanon 14, Prudentius creates an inventive verse rendering of the martyrdom of Agnes. Interestingly, in this poem, the portrayal of Agnes shares many features with the elegiac puellae of Roman love elegy. Prudentius’ classicising poetry is characterised by the mixture of genres and literary traditions, one of them being Roman love elegy. The affinities, however, between Prudentius and the latter tradition deserve closer attention. In this paper, by identifying vocabulary, themes and motifs of Roman elegy in Peristephanon 14, I will illustrate ways in which Prudentius’ Agnes can be read as a Christianised elegiac puella.
The Classical Quarterly
sola scripturarum ars est, quam sibi omnes passim uindicent: ‘scribimus indocti doctique poemata ... more sola scripturarum ars est, quam sibi omnes passim uindicent: ‘scribimus indocti doctique poemata passim’ [Hor. Epist. 2.1.117]. hanc garrula anus, hanc delirus senex, hanc soloecista uerbosus, hanc uniuersi praesumunt, lacerant, docent, antequam discant. alii adducto supercilio grandia uerba trutinantes inter mulierculas de sacris litteris philosophantur, alii discunt—pro pudor!—a feminis, quod uiros doceant, et, ne parum hoc sit, quadam facilitate uerborum, immo audacia disserunt aliis, quod ipsi non intellegunt. taceo de meis similibus, qui si forte ad scripturas sanctas post saeculares litteras uenerint et sermone conposito aurem populi mulserint, quicquid dixerint, hoc legem dei putant nec scire dignantur, quid prophetae, quid apostoli senserint, sed ad sensum suum incongrua aptant testimonia, quasi grande sit et non uitiosissimum dicendi genus deprauare sententias et ad uoluntatem suam scripturam trahere repugnantem. quasi non legerimus Homerocentonas et Vergiliocentonas ac non...
Classical Philology, 2021
Prudentius’ Hymn to Romanus, a work also known as Peristephanon 10, is replete with allusions to ... more Prudentius’ Hymn to Romanus, a work also known as Peristephanon 10, is replete with allusions to Juvenal. Although previous scholarship has focused on identifying these allusions, less attention has been paid to his Christian background, against which his poems can be more fully appreciated. In this study, without attempting to downplay Juvenal’s influence on Prudentius, I will revisit some of his allusions to the Roman satirist in their broader context, taking cognizance of the Christian apologetic material on which Prudentius drew heavily in order to write his Hymn to Romanus. In so doing, I wish to show how and why Prudentius combines Juvenal with Christian apologetics, and what that can tell us both for Prudentius’ modes of allusion, and for the reception of Juvenal and satire into a Christian context.
Studia Patristica. Vol. CXXX - Papers presented at the Eighteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2019
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Papers by Thomas Tsartsidis