Für diesen Artikel ist leider kein Bild verfügbar.

The Poems of Optatian

Puzzling out the Past in the Time of Constantine the Great
Buch | Hardcover
256 Seiten
2024
Bloomsbury Academic (Verlag)
978-1-350-37437-9 (ISBN)
105,95 inkl. MwSt
For the first time, the poems and accompanying letters of Publilius Optatianus Porfyrius (Optatian) are published here with a translation and detailed commentary, along with a full introduction to Optatian’s work during this period.Optatian was sent into exile by Constantine sometime after the Emperor’s ascent to power in Rome in 312 AD. Hoping to receive pardon, Optatian sent a gift of probably twenty design poems to Constantine around the time of the ruler’s twentieth anniversary (325/326 AD).

To enable the reader to experience the multiple messages of the poems, the Latin text is presented near the English translation with any related design close by. Some poems, laid out on a grid of up to 35 letters across and down, have an interwoven poem marking key letters in the primary poem, thereby revealing a highlighted image. Some designs include the Chi-Rho or numerals created from V’s and X’s to mark imperial anniversaries. Other (previously unrecognised) designs seem to represent senatorial, imperial, military or bureaucratic motifs or to derive from coin images. Shape poems representing a water organ, an altar and a panpipe reveal their relevance immediately. The introduction and commentary elucidate literary allusions from over 100 authors (lines from Vergil, Ovid, Lucan, Silius Italicus, Statius, and lesser-known writers abound) and mythological references, mostly to the Muses and Apollo. Optatian’s prestige as an official in both Greece and Rome is well attested - these poems mark Optatian as a fascinating writer of his time, holding onto the classical past while acknowledging Christian symbolism.

Linda Hall is Professor Emerita of History at St Mary’s College of Maryland, USA. Her publications include Roman Berytus: Beirut in Late Antiquity (2004).

List of Figures
Preface
Acknowledgments
Note on Text, Translation and Abbreviations
Introduction

1. Letters between Constantine and Optatian [Porfyrius]
2. The Poems of Optatian to Constantine
3. The Poems of Optatian to Other Recipients

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Erscheinungsdatum
Zusatzinfo 23 bw illus
Verlagsort London
Sprache englisch
Maße 156 x 234 mm
Themenwelt Literatur Klassiker / Moderne Klassiker
Literatur Lyrik / Dramatik Lyrik / Gedichte
Sachbuch/Ratgeber Freizeit / Hobby Spielen / Raten
ISBN-10 1-350-37437-7 / 1350374377
ISBN-13 978-1-350-37437-9 / 9781350374379
Zustand Neuware
Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt?
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
Deutsche Gedichte aus zwölf Jahrhunderten

von Dirk von Petersdorff

Buch | Hardcover (2023)
C.H.Beck (Verlag)
28,00
Texte über Menschlichkeit

von Leah Weigand

Buch | Hardcover (2024)
Knaur HC (Verlag)
18,00
Text, Übersetzung, Melodien, Kommentar

von Horst Brunner; Burghart Wachinger; Oswald von Wolkenstein

Buch | Softcover (2024)
De Gruyter (Verlag)
24,95