Dracontius on Homer and Virgil in the Prologue to The Abduction of Helen
Nikolsky Ivan M.
The paper deals with the problem of the late Roman poet Dracontius’ assessment of his literary predecessors, Homer and Virgil. Although their influence on this author is indisputable, there are very few direct indications of his personal attitude to the masters of the epic genre. In fact, the only such example is found in the prologue to the poem The Abduction of Helen. The small discourse, which fits into 20 lines, is usually interpreted by researchers as a praise of, or at least as a tribute to the poets of the past. At the same time, a closer analysis of some of its stylistic features and imagery used by Dracontius gives grounds for seeing irony behind the panegyric.
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