Voordrachten: 'Mythologie tot Orthodoxie'

Mythologie voor christenen en Bijbels in hexameters: Eruditie en traditie in de late oudheid

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Abstract

When pagan religion ‘lost’ and Christianity ‘won’ – the reign of Theodosius (384-392) was an important turning point – the cultural, religious and symbolical status of the pagan Greco-Roman gods arguably changed. Today, they are part of our cultural heritage, without any religious connotations. But how did Christians in Late Antiquity deal with the heritage of their still omnipresent past? A closer look at the literature from this period of change (4th-6th century AD) can offer a – partial – answer, but only when Christian and ‘pagan’ (or better ‘secular’) literature are studied together and in relation to one another. Nonnus of Panopolis (5th AD) is an interesting case. He wrote a 48-book epic poem on the God Dionysus and a hexametrical Paraphrase of the gospel of John. Can Dionysus represent Christ? Or is Nonnus’ interest in mythology (like ours) purely antiquarian? What is the effect of the Gospel’s transformation into an epic poem? This contribution combines a central focus on Nonnus with a few explorations of the broader Late Antique (Greco-Roman) context.

How to Cite:

Verhelst, B., (2016) “Mythologie voor christenen en Bijbels in hexameters: Eruditie en traditie in de late oudheid”, Tetradio 25(1): 5, 123–148. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tetradio.91853