The influence of Parthenius on the new poets.
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Date
1996
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Abstract
This thesis examines the influence of Parthenius' doctrine of erotika pathemata on the
Neoteric epyllion. His influence on Cinna has been readily acknowledged, but except
for a few incidental and tentative references, little has been made of his role in
determining important features of Neoteric poetry; in fact, many Leading scholars in
the field fail even to mention him.
A survey of the evolution of the epyllion in the Hellenistic world shows a radical
transformation of the Callimachean type by Euphorion and Parthenius", in the late
Alexandrian era. It is clearly the late Alexandrian epyllion that became popular with
the Neoterics, as the relevant works of Catullus and, what can be conjectured about
the nature of the lost Neatenc epyllia suggest. There is a marked bias towards tragic
love-stories, sensational and bizarre, often metamorphic and with ample scope for
emotional analysis and a subjective treatment. These features closely parallel the tenor
of Parthenius', summary of 36 love-stories in the Erotika Pathemata, his only wholly
extant work.
While the collection was dedicated to Comelius Gallus well after most of the Neoteric
epyllia were written, it is safe to assume that Parthenius preached his doctrine from the
time of his arrival at Rome, as his widely acknowledged influence on Cinna's Zmyrna,
perhaps the first Latin epyllion, seems to suggest. This thesis cannot pretend to defend
Ross' extravagant claim that "without Parthenius' timely arrival there could have
been no New Poetry"; but it can attempt to illuminate Parthenius' central role in
establishing the nature of the Neoteric epyllion.
This study has been undertaken, then, in the belief that Parthenius' influence on the
Neoterics and on the creation of a new genre at Rome warrants closer scrutiny than has
so far been attempted. Thus, it seeks to provide an alternate basis for the analysis of
poems like 63 and 64, and heralds a possible shift from the emphasis on the
autobiographical approach, which, though undoubtedly valid, has been belaboured in
recent years to the point of excess.
Abbreviated title: Erocika Pathemata and the Neoteric Epyllion.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Durban-Westville, 1996.
Keywords
Parthenius--Criticism and interpretation., Greek prose literature., Catullus, Gaius Valerius--Criticism and interpretation., Latin poetry--History and criticism., Poets, Latin., Theses--Social science.