Journal article
Polemical poetry in late antiquity: the rise of a eunuch consul in Book 1 of Claudian's In Eutropium
Acta Classica, Vol.Supplementum XI, pp.227-244
2022
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Abstract
The article examines Claudian’s use of Stoic and Epicurean ideas to mount a vitriolic attack against Eutropius, the eunuch consul serving under the Eastern emperor Arcadius. Employed by Stilicho, the pre-eminent military commander of the Western emperor Honorius, Claudian, in book 1 of the In Eutropium, synthesizes Stoic and Epicurean tropes about bodily afflictions that reveal one's moral character. Claiming that Eutropius, a eunuch who had spent many years as a slave, is a monstrous proof of an offence committed against nature/God, Claudian’s polemic plays on the fears of his largely Christian audience about an imminent divine punishment which the split of the Empire between Theodosius’ sons confirms.
Details
- Title
- Polemical poetry in late antiquity: the rise of a eunuch consul in Book 1 of Claudian's In Eutropium
- Creators
- Michael B CharlesEva Anagnostou-Laoutides
- Publication Details
- Acta Classica, Vol.Supplementum XI, pp.227-244
- Publisher
- Classical Association of South Africa
- Identifiers
- 991013102512302368
- Academic Unit
- Management; Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article