Paraphrasis and Cento: A Comparative Analysis of Late Antique Greek and Latin Versification

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the nature of biblical versification in Late Antiquity and analyzes specific works in the genres of paraphrasis and cento penned by Latin- and Greek-speaking poets. While much scholarly research has focused on individual works, this project adopts a comparative approach and examines the goals and techniques by which these authors retold biblical stories using words and images borrowed from Vergil and Homer. The analysis demonstrates that the authors of cento and paraphrasis created these works with numerous motives and were at once poets, theologians, and literary scholars. After a brief introduction, chapter 1 offers a discussion of versification, specifically its Classical origins, evolution, and contemporary reception. It also analyzes the prefaces to certain paraphrases and centos to gauge the authors’ stated ambitions and how they understand the genres in which they are operating. The following chapter launches into the first of a series of case studies analyzing Greek and Latin versifications in parallel. The first case study consists of two centos written by female poets on the life of Jesus Christ, Proba’s fourth-century Cento Vergilianus and Eudocia’s fifth-century Homerocentones. Despite their different languages and contexts, the two authors create remarkably similar poems using identical methods, namely a complex web of intertextual references that provides additional layers of meaning to the biblical characters and events. In chapter 3, the analysis turns to the second pair of case studies: Nonnus of Panopolis’ fifth-century Paraphrasis of the Gospel of John and Sedulius’ fifth-century Paschale Carmen. Though both paraphrasts have similar goals, they use varying methods to accomplish them. While Nonnus of Panopolis provides meaning through the use of allusive vocabulary, Sedulius intervenes more drastically in the structure of his narrative and employs epic imagery to convey his theological message. The final chapter studies outliers such as Ausonius’ fourth-century Cento Nuptialis, Eudocia’s Life of Saint Cyprian, and two Latin Lives of Saint Martin of Tours. This examination demonstrates that these non-biblical paraphrases follow the examples of their biblical counterparts very closely in their methods. It further bears out the tendencies observed in chapter 3, which found Latin authors more eager to intervene in structure rather than in word use. Through this examination, this dissertation demonstrates that Late Antique religious versification was used for highly complex theological and literary purposes. Greek and Latin authors alike were immersed in a Classical literary legacy and felt empowered to present their own theological ideas in a genre that delegates much of the responsibility for interpretation to the reader. With these works, they exemplify the intricate contemporary coexistence of pagan literary tradition alongside evolving Christian belief.