Dracontius

http://giemmardelplata.org/archivos/librosyactas/
Capítulo publicado en: Florio, Rubén (dir.) Varia et diversa: Sus contactos con la Historia, Mar del Plata, UNMPdP / UNL, 2018, pp. 157-206. // The main purpose of this research is proposing a new critical approach to the reading of the poem entitled De Raptu Helenae, which was written by Blossius Aemilius Dracontius in the 5th Century. We will particularly examine its exordium, in order to suggest that there is a strong formal connection between the compositional technique of centonal poems’ authors and certain narrative strategies adopted by Dracontius when he inscribes his text in the epic proemium’s tradition. Once established that the invocation of Homer and Virgil substitutes the conventional request to the Muse for inspiration, we shall demonstrate that the apparent praise constitutes actually a veiled attack to those pagan authors, structured by the semantic inversion of different quotes and allusion taken from Virgil, Ovid, Lucan, Prudentius and Ausonius, among other poets.
Centonal compositions - epic proems - Dracontius

La monografia prevede l’edizione critica, la traduzione italiana ed il commento di Drac. Romul. 8. Si tratta di un epillio mitologico di 655 esametri, avente per soggetto il ratto di Elena e redatto da Blossio Emilio Draconzio, insegnante, avvocato e poeta africano di lingua latina vissuto tra V e VI secolo. La prima parte del lavoro si intitola Conspectus siglorum et principia editoris: in essa, redatta come da tradizione in latino, si trovano l’elenco dei codici manoscritti considerati, le precedenti edizioni prese in esame ed i contributi filologici finora pubblicati, nonché l’enunciazione dei criteri e dei segni di punteggiatura, di ecdotica, di traduzione, di ordo verborum e di grafia utilizzati per il lavoro. La seconda parte è intitolata Testo ed apparato critico: si propone qui un testo soltanto in parte nuovo dell’epillio draconziano, avendo di base quello di É. WOLFF, Poèmes profanes VI-X. Fragments, dans Dracontius. Oeuvres, publié par J. BOUQUET - ID., Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 1996, vol. 4, pp. 13-40, con tuttavia alcuni ripristini di contributi tralasciati, la correzione di evidenti e spiacevoli errori, l’assunzione di nuove ed aggiornate proposte ed alcune divinationes del sottoscritto curatore. La terza parte si chiama Traduzione: presenta la prima traduzione italiana della lirica che sia in poesia e sia aderente al testo, finora integralmente convertito solo in francese e spagnolo, con l’aggiunta di qualche breve estratto in tedesco, inglese ed italiano, ma sempre in prosa e molto liberamente, pur non trattandosi della prima traduzione italiana in assoluto, dato che, a stesura completata, è stata pubblicata quella lodevole, seppur prosaica, di DRACONZIO, I carmi profani, a cura di A. GRILLONE, Messina, EDAS, 2015, pp. 64-99, che ad un certo punto non si è più potuta ignorare. La quarta e più corposa parte del lavoro è il Commento: esso è non soltanto grammaticale ed esegetico, comprensivo di evidenti spunti didattici, ma soprattutto stilistico, toccando la lingua, l'etimologia, la retorica, l’intertestualità e la metrica, ed è il primo in assoluto che esamina il testo in forma continua e completa, soppesandolo parola per parola. La quinta ed ultima parte sono i Riferimenti bibliografici: essi sono esaustivi, ma inerenti alla lirica soltanto, e non all’autore.

Cet article examine le long excursus sur les héros antiques qui sont pris comme exempla scelerum dans les Louanges de Dieu, 3, v. 251-530. Ces exempla, tirés de sources païennes comme Valérius Maxime, ou chrétiennes comme Tertullien, Augustin et Orose servent de repoussoirs, car ces héros sont considérés comme des criminels pour s’être suicidés ou avoir tué des membres de leur famille. La comparaison entre les Romulea et les Louanges de Dieu permet d’établir qu’il n’y a pas de différences d’approche. Le poète s’intéresse aux passions humaines et aux paradoxes de la destinée humaine.

In some contexts, when used as an attribute of waters, the Latin adjective purpureus does not “purple” or sim., as it is commonly interpreted, but it can mean “seething”, “rough”, “foaming” (see, e.g., Verg. georg. iv 273; Prop. ii 26a, 5), on the model of the  Homeric use of porphyreos  (see, e.g., Il. i 482; xvi 391).

Nel corso del saggio vengono analizzati gli aspetti della retorica declamatoria di Draconzio (in particolare i tre carmi "retorici" dei «Romulea» - «Verba Herculis» [Rom. IV], «Controversia de statua viri fortis» [Rom. V] e «Deliberativa Achillis» [Rom. IX]) e di altri testi dell'Africa vandalica tardo-antica («Aegritudo Perdicae», «Epistula Didonis ad Aeneam»), nel tentativo di identificare tratti di continuità, ma anche, inevitabilmente, di discontinuità, con gli elementi propri della retorica latina repubblicana e imperiale.

"Tragedia-miniatura" è un nuovo termine che descrive opere letterarie nella forma di epyllion (principalmente del 3° o del 4° secolo. D.C.), riassumendo una tragedia greca o anche una trilogia intera. Nella letteratura di questo tipo appartengono le seguenti opere poetiche: Anonimo, "Alcestis Barcinonensis"; Anonimo, "Alcesta"; Draconzio, "Orestis Tragoedia" e "Medea"; Osidio Geta, "Medea"; Anonimo, "[Le Fenicie]", che sono tutte scritte in latino, tranne l'ultima che viene scritta in greco antico. Per quanto riguarda i poeti romani influenzati da Seneca, e altri scrittori che non appartengono alla poesia drammatica, però al epica latina, alla mitografia e all’elegia erotica, loro hanno innestato i miti greci con elementi romani (motivazioni, credenze, ideali, virtù) e hanno dato agli eroi e alle eroine classici nuovi caracteristici che appartenevano nella loro società, ricordando più patrizi e matrone di Roma che dei Greci. Inoltre, hanno arricchito la trama stabilita della tragedia greca, con rare o completamente sconosciuti da altre fonti variazioni di miti nel contesto di esercizi retorici, centroni, e anche creazioni originali. Attraverso il processo di imitazione e di concorrenza (imitatio / aemulatio), hanno rispettato il passato e allo stesso tempo hanno fatto una ruptura con esso, riuscendo a rinnovare l'interesse dei lettori / ascoltatori e garantire la diffusione della mitologia, che altrimenti rischiava di essere considerata ‘fuori moda’, anche insopportabilmente noiosa. Cercheremo infine, utilizzando le indicazioni externe o interne (l’elenco delle persone, l'azione, la trama, l’unità del luogo e del tempo, la scenografia, il vocabolario speciale etc.) di rilevare se queste opere erano destinate ad essere recitate al teatro, in pantomima o in lettura.

The essay provides a complete study of the literary models of the prefatory epigram of the Hexameron by Eugenius of Toledo, underlining the processes of refunctionalization of
the paradigms relating to the topos of the Anrede an das Buch (Horatius, Martial, Optatianus Porphyrius, Ausonius), in light of the controversial relationship between the poet and Chindasvintus. Furthermore, the translation and the analysis of the dedicatory epistle to the Visigothic king illustrate the characteristic of Eugenius’ prose. Finally, the formal comparison between the epigram and the final recapitulatio sex dierum proves the aware intention of Eugenius to create a work worthy of an epigone of the classical philologists and the personal library of the king Chindasvintus.

In the "Alcestis Barcinonensis", Alcestis’ voluntary self-sacrifice ends not with the heroine’s resurrection, but with her drawn-out death. On the contrary, in "Orestes Tragoedia", Iphigenia is thought to be dead after having being sacrificed – against her will – by Agamemnon in Aulis. In a dramatic scene invented by Dracontius, father and daughter meet again in the goddess’s temple in Tauris. Both poets following imitatio and aemulatio try to create something original and better than the Greek tragedies that inspired them (respectively, Euripides’ "Alcestis" and the Argolic circle). Admiration and reconciliation but also rupture and condemnation of previous literature reside among the authors’ plans: they make use of traditional myth, not only incorporating previous formulas, themes, ideas, and motives but also applying refiguration, appropriation and recontextualization and adding new innovative elements which are closer to Roman mentality and literature.

This paper shows how the text of the Latin Dares Phrygius, De excidio Troiae historia, is one of the main sources of Dracontius’ Rom. VIII, De raptu Helenae. My argument is straightforward and it works as follows. It is known that the two texts share many narrative elements that are specific to them only, but for lack of external evidence, it is sometimes still argued that Dracontius was the source for the Latin Dares, which should therefore be dated not earlier than the 6th century, with its first certain mention in Isidorus’ Etymologiae in the 7th. Through an analysis of the web of intertextual memories in De raptu, I show that: 1) in the De raptu all the allusions from Trojan-related sources certainly known to Dracontius (Aeneid and Achilleid especially) come together in the construction of an ideologically-oriented reading of the Trojan War, which is pessimistic and very far from the providential narrative of Virgil’s; 2) for this particular reading of the De raptu to fully work, we must take into account Dares as one of the relevant intertexts.
It will be apparent that Dracontius substantiates his bleak picture of the Trojan War through a subtle activation of the various Latin subtexts at play: we’ll see how Statius’ Achilleid provides the general structure for the epyllion, while Aeneid and De excidio support the specific narrative choices of the De raptu. For example, Dracontius builds his ambiguous characters mainly through the interplay between Aeneid and De excidio: Paris is portrayed so as to remind the reader of the worst traits of the Virgilian Aeneas, but also of the Trojan horse; whereas the intertextual memory of Dares makes Aeneas a likely traitor of his people.
Other aspects of my argument are: the emphasis on the melior via that Dracontius claims to follow in the proem; the presence of Dictys Cretensis as a source in the De raptu; and the presence of Dares as a source in two of his other pagan works: Rom. IX and Tragoedia Orestis.
The consequences are extremely relevant and not only for our understanding of De raptu. With the De excidio now firmly dated before the De raptu, our view of its early circulation must change accordingly: if Dracontius deemed his readers capable of recognizing the allusions he disseminates his text with, we must conclude that the De excidio would already have been able to count on a large audience. Furthermore, the De raptu is the first Latin text where Dares and Dictys complement each other’s narratives, as they did from the Middle Ages onward.

Les héros voyageurs occupent une place importante dans la poésie latine tardive et, en particulier, dans l’œuvre de Dracontius, auteur qui vécut à Carthage dans la seconde moitié du Vème siècle sous le règne des Vandales d’Afrique. Dans le de raptu Helenae, le poète accorde une grande place aux différents moments du voyage par mer et montre une sensibilité poétique entre nouveauté et tradition littéraire, une singulière érudition mythologique, une diction poétique raffinée. Mais surtout, le Pâris de Dracontius devient l’image littéraire des souverains Vandales qui sillonnent la mer à la recherche de richesses et de pouvoir.

Circe, de clásicos y modernos, Vol. 18, N° 2, 2014. En este trabajo presentamos la traducción del latín al español, con introducción y breves notas, del octavo de los denominados "Carmina Profana" o "Romulea" escritos por el poeta cristiano Blosio Emilio Draconcio durante  el siglo V y transmitido por la tradición textual bajo el título "De Raptu Helenae".

La revisión de la traducción fue realizada por la Dra. María Luisa La Fico Guzzo.

Verg. Aen. i 664 ff. and Ov. met. v 365 ff. serve as poetic models for the episode in Dracontius’ Hylas (Romul. 2) where Venus succeeds, with Cupid’s aid, in subjecting the Nymphs to the force of love. To these must be added Apul. met. iv 29, 5–31, 3: here Venus, jealous of Psyche’s beauty, addresses Cupid in order to punish her rival.

Nell’ambito delle attività relative alla collana “Nuova Biblioteca di Cultura Romanobarbarica” – SISMEL Edizioni del Galluzzo, il Dipartimento di Storia, Scienze dell’Uomo e della Formazione dell’Università di Sassari e il Dipartimento di Filologia e Critica delle Letterature Antiche e Moderne dell’Università di Siena hanno organizzato un Convegno internazionale: “Metamorfosi del classico in età romanobarbarica”, che si terrà online nei giorni di giovedì 17 e venerdì 18 giugno 2021.

Per il programma si veda la locandina in allegato.

Link per seguire i lavori:
https://unisi.webex.com/meet/metamorfosidelclassico

Nel contributo vengono presentati i risultati dei primi sondaggi effettuati in maniera sistematica nel De laudibus Dei di Draconzio e nel De spiritalis historiae gestis composto da Avito di Vienne finalizzati a rilevare la presenza del modello lucreziano e le differenti modalità e funzioni di riuso. Dopo una selezione di loci significativi tratti dai due poemi e una disamina dell’insieme dei dati emersi, ci si sofferma in particolare sul commento di Drac. laud. I 1-28; 138-148; 164; 437-458 e di Alc.Av. carm. I 17-31: IV 3-109; 155-164.

The paper presents the results of the first screening carried out systematically in the De laudibus Dei of Dracontius and in the De spiritalis historiae gestis composed by Avitus of Vienne aimed at detecting the presence of the Lucretian model and the different modalities and functions of reuse. Afer a selection of significant loci taken from the two poems and an examination of the set of data emerged, we dwell in particular on commentary of Drac. laud. I 1-28; 138-148; 164; 437-458 and of Alc.Av. carm. I 17-31: IV 3-109; 155-164.

Dracontius' "De origine rosarum" is an etiological epigram about roses born after Venus was injured by a thorn. It is written in emulation of Ovid's "Metamorphoses" and Latin tardive poems (Anthologia Latina)  about roses. But many elements of the text  and of Dracontius' "Epithalamium Ioannis et Vitulae" give an erotic meaning, in emulation of Claudian : Venus appears as a "uirgo", the injury is the symbol of her defloration whoses the rose is the gift.

Dracontius’ literary production is fully permeated by Ovid’s
presence. The intertextual relationship between the two authors extends beyond  the mere verbal parallels and rather appears to be intensely functional. Dracontius sees Ovid (especially the poet of the Metamorphoses) not only as a source of erudite references, but also as the storyteller of ancient myths that still affect the
collective imagination. The cultural memory of these myths turns out to be essential even in a new Christian context. Through a series of examples from the  Hylas (Romul. 2) this paper intends to highlight how Dracontius interprets and reuses Ovidian poetry.

This paper analyzes some of the ways in which Dracontius refers to classical authors in his reprise of pagan mythological  themes: in the Hylas (Romul. 2) the African poet reworks and personalizes the myth, bending it to his ideological needs as part of a wide-ranging cultural project.

Nella riformulazione del mito operata da Draconzio nell’‘Hylas’ (Romul. 2) si possono cogliere diversi elementi che permettono di definire la sua concezione della letteratura. Emerge l’idea della funzione educativa che il poeta riconosceva ancora alla tradizione classica in un contesto di equilibri politici e culturali profondamente mutati con l’affermazione dei barbari entro i confini dell’impero.

Marrón, Gabriela Andrea, “No era mujer de arrodillarse. Cleopatra, Judith y la Medea de Draconcio”, en Claudia E. Lobo y Rolando J. Rocha (Comp.) Magisterium. Studia in honorem Mirta Estela Assis, San Miguel de Tucumán, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, 2019, 295-329. ISBN: 978-987-754-213-4

Μετά από μία σύντομη επισκόπηση του υποβάθρου πίσω από τον μύθο της Μήδειας, καθώς και των στοιχείων που συνθέτουν την πολυδιάστατη προσωπικότητά της (παλαιά θεότητα, γυναίκα και μάγισσα, βασιλοπούλα, εξόριστη, βάρβαρη, μανιακή), θα εξετάσουμε τις ρωμαϊκές τραγωδίες, στις οποίες εμφανίζεται. Από τα αποσπασματικά σωζόμενα  δράματα των προγενέστερων ποιητών (Έννιος, Πακούβιος, Άκκιος και Οβίδιος), θα φτάσουμε στη Medea του Σενέκα, τα χαρακτηριστικά της οποίας θα αναλύσουμε, και θα ολοκληρώσουμε με δύο μεταγενέστερα δείγματα, του Οσίδιου Γέτη και του Δρακόντιου, που ανήκουν στη λεγόμενη «τραγωδία-μινιατούρα».

The myth of Medea – it is well known – constitutes one of the fundamental archetypes which classical culture bequeathed to the Western world with regard to the portrayal of women. Its literary treatment in the ancient world begins already in the archaic Greek literature, although the fundamental core of the mythical story that has had the greatest impact in modern times is that which was developed by Euripides, who presented his tragedy Medea at the festival of 431 B.C in Athens. The purpose of my paper is to illustrate, via a new interpretation, the Nachleben or ‘afterlife’ of the myth of Medea with special reference to an anonymous ecphrastic epigram of Late Antiquity: Anth. Lat. 102 R.2 (= 91 Sh. B. = 13 Zurli). The epigram refers to the famous painting by Timomachus of Byzantium which was brought by Julius Caesar to Rome for the inauguration of the Forum Iulium, and which depicted Medea’s cunctatio, that is, our heroine at the point when she hesitates and is divided in her mind between desire for revenge and feelings of piety toward her children. My intention is to relate this variation on the theme of Medea to the changes which were taking place in the field of the Latin epigram already from the third century A.D., and which not only broadened the themes of the literary genre to include topics of a learned nature but also contributed to the literary experimentation of poetry in Late Antiquity.

The title Orestis tragoedia, traditionally retained, is not authentic for various reasons – generic, literary, because of the transmission of texts and the story of the word tragoedia : I thus propose to choose the title Orestis. Through the metapoetic image of Melpomene’s invocation and reject (vv. 13-14), Dracontius proclaims in fact his refusal of theatrical mimesis and Greek tragedy ; he establishes a dialogue with Horace and proclaims a Roman inspiration, in order to create a new genre, arisen from mastered tragedy. Furthermore, the inflection brought to tragic data shows that Dracontius wants to give a new vision of Orestes’ myth and, by a “writing of memory”, to preserve Roman culture. Finally, Orestis reveals an impoverishment of the different expressions of the tragic at the end of the 5th century.

This article deals with the work ‘Satisfactio’ by the 5th century
Carthaginian poet Blossius Aemilius Dracontius, which is often regarded as a piece of fiction, written in prison as a pray for pardon and at the same time as an ode, dedicated to the Vandal king Gunthamund. However, a comparison of the author’s dedication inside the ‘Satisfactio’ with his dedication to Felicianus Grammaticus, allows to make a conclusion that ‘Satisfactio’ could have contained an implication that changed its colouring from panegyrical to directly opposite, which makes it possible to assume that the creation of this piece of fiction was quite a daring and provocative action.