Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Λατινική ΦιλολογίαLibrary of the School of Philosophy
Supervisors info:
Σοφία Παπαϊωάννου, Καθηγήτρια Λατινικής Φιλολογίας, Τμήμα Φιλολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή ΕΚΠΑ
Μυρτώ Γκαράνη, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια Κλασικής Φιλολογίας, Τμήμα Φιλολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή ΕΚΠΑ
Ανδρέας Μιχαλόπουλος, Καθηγητής Λατινικής Φιλολογίας, Τμήμα Φιλολογίας, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Οι ιστορίες που λένε τα αστέρια: ο ρόλος του μύθου στα Αστρονομικά του Μανίλιου
Translated title:
The stories the stars tell: the role of myth in Manilius' Astronomica
Summary:
This study examines the role of myth in Manilius’ Astronomica. The work is an astrological treatise, which belongs to the genre of didactic poetry. Manilius in various passages refers to the difficulty of his subject, while emphasizing his originality. He rejects as easy what his previous writers dealt with, and blames the poets of Catasterisms for having false viewpoint: they approach their narratives simply as stories that once took place on the Earth, whose (usually) the main protagonist turned into a constellation. This, however, discredits the sky, the concept of which is the highest value to the ideological principles of Astronomica. Nonetheless, Manilius includes myths into his work, raising reasonable questions. This dissertation aims to show that the mythological elements in Astronomica exist for three main reasons: initially, they help Manilius establish himself as a leading poet - prophet (vates) who mediates between heaven - god and people. Also, being based on the narrations of earlier poets, he uses them to create a comparison between their work and his own, emphasizing his own originality. Finally, myth, harmoniously integrated into his opus, consists a mirror which reflects its ideology and hence the latter becomes clearer and more comprehensible.
Main subject category:
Language – Literature
Keywords:
latin poetry, didactic poetry, Manilius, astrology, myth
