Claudian’s mythological poem De raptu Proserpinae is almost wholly composed of loosely linked episodes. The disputed verses from his epic, are one of the luxuriant descriptive episodes (ekphrasis) and portray four goddesses tending to the meadow of the Mount Etna. In this paper I’ll try to indicate, that their looks and the symbols depicted on their garments resemble the popular fashion of the contemporary aristocracy and remind of the works of art and motifs characteristic and prevailing in fourth century C.E. Beyond that, not to be overlooked, Claudian simultaneously emulates the divine images that mainly appear in Homer’s and Vergil’s epics as well.
The subject of Claudian’s Gigantomachia, narrating the great war between the Gods and the Giants, is vividly felt in the fourth century AD, given the historical context during which it was written. This piece, besides being mythological in a Christian world, remains unfinished, and the perspective of the incomplete end raises some questions: did Claudian do it voluntarily? Was he forced to do so? Was the end lost? And more generally, why would an official poet choose to write on a subject which does not align with the new way of thinking of a Christian Roman Empire, while rewriting a myth which tends to echo the military and the political context he was living in? In order to see through this perspective, it may be interesting to observe Claudian’s adaptations in rewriting the myth in order to grasp the different aspects of the context he was living in and that he was trying to mirror, and also to question the function of such a narration for Claudian himself, between pessimism towards loss and hope for a brighter future. This study, which focuses on the difficult adaptation of Pagans to the Christian era, allows to see, through a thorough study of Claudian’s Gigantomachia, the expression of a personal belief in an epic poem. Late Christian Antiquity poetry therefore appears both as a means to express one’s feelings and to overcome them.
Two Latin poets of late antiquity, Claudian and Sidonius Apollinaris, included in their verse panegyrics short descriptions of diplomatic journey to Persia. The first mentioned the mission of Stilicho himself in “Panegyric on the consulate of Stilicho” (400 AD), whereas the latter described the mission of Procopius, father of the honorand in the “Panegyric on the consulate of Anthemius” (468 AD). Since Sidonius was in many ways imitator of Claudian, these pieces show a great deal of similarity both in content and form (especially in wording). However, closer scrutiny enables us to discover some differences in the treatment of Oriental topics as well as in general attitude to the praised heroes. Such an analysis allows us an insight into the image of Iranian world created in the Roman poetry as well as the question of sources used by late Latin poets. This paper can be also treated as a small contribution to the discussion on Sidonius’ imitation of Claudian poetry.
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