Lampas - Volume 55, Issue 3, 2022

Abstract This introduction offers a brief overview of the features of Late Antiquity as a historical period in its own right, and of some trends in the emerging field of Late Antique Studies. By explaining some relevant evolutions, such as the shift away from Rome as the centre of the Empire, the gradual process of Christianisation, and the development of a new aesthetic and new reading styles in literature, it aims to place the oth Read More

Abstract In this article, I analyse two specimina of imperial panegyrical poetry, addressed at persons who hold lower ranks in the imperial hierarchy than the emperor: Constantine’s son Crispus in the first quarter of the 4th century AD in Optatianus Porfyrius’ hexametric poetry, and Honorius’ cousin (and sister by adoption, as well as mother-in-law) Serena in the last quarter of the same century, praised by Claudius Claudianus i Read More

Abstract With the rise of a mostly ceremonious palace emperorship in Late Antiquity, most emperors stopped leading armies in person and left the business of warfare in the hands of their generals. While this made the traditional ideal of the soldier emperor less important than it had been, we should not underestimate its enduring relevance as a cornerstone of imperial legitimacy in the eyes of influential interest groups. This ar Read More

Abstract Religion is a fundamental aspect of our reconstructions of the late antique world. Literary and theological texts present everyday life in Late Antiquity as a ‘world full of gods’, in which religious conflict defines the interaction between members of religious groups. This article examines late antique papyrus letters as sources for everyday life experience, highlighting on the one hand the open religious diversity and on the Read More

Abstract This article discusses the ideal of a philosophical rhetoric as propagated by the fourth-century philosopher and orator Themistius. His ideal, like that of his Neoplatonist contemporaries, is shaped by an intensive engagement with Plato’s dialogues dealing with this subject. Themistius imputes to his contemporaries the same vices that Socrates held against the sophists. He also claims that good rhetoric is always based Read More

Abstract The present article shows how in late antique literature Christianity and classical culture are intertwined like grapevines, by offering a literary comparison between Nonnus of Panopolis’ Paraphrase of the Gospel of John and his Dionysiaca. It gives an example of the way in which Nonnus’ spirit is present in both works, the former a biblical epic dictated by the rules of the paraphrase, the latter an exuberant free-flo Read More