Zapraszamy na zdalne Seminarium Mercuriale w Instytucie Filologii Klasycznej UW, które odbędzie się za pośrednictwem Google Meet w środę 29 marca o godz. 18.30, link
https://meet.google.com/rqm-hxuk-soi.
Dr Mateusz Kusio (Wydział Historii UW)
wygłosi referat pt.
“A Slap in the Face of Public Taste”? Commodianus and the Classical Tradition.
Streszczenie:
The third-century Christian Latin poet Commodianus is considered one of the most enigmatic and “vulgar” ancient writers. Being the earliest Christian, whose poetry survives to our own times, he composed two works: a set of eighty acrostic Instructiones directed to pagans, Jews, and Christians, as well as a lengthy poem on theology, exegesis, and eschatology known as the Carmen. Both are written in faulty hexameters and with little regard for classical models. Moreover, Commodianus expressed open disdain for earlier Latin authors, as well as for the Roman religion and culture. At the same time, the volume of references to other poets, such as Vergil, Lucan, Ovid, Statius, and even Lucretius and Manilius, suggests some degree of literary acumen and a willingness to draw on it and to impress his audience. Scholars have variously interpreted these competing tendencies in Commodianus either as his anti-intellectualism or an attempt to assert authority through showing off his learning. In this paper, I will attempt to tread a middle path by arguing that Commodianus did both things at the same time – he tried to overthrow the classical tradition by putting his arms fully around it and embracing it.