Vergil, Philodemus and the Augustans

The Epicurean teacher and poet Philodemus of Gadara (c. 110-c. 40/35 BC) exercised significant literary and philosophical influence on Roman writers of the Augustan Age, most notably the poets Vergil and Horace. Yet a modern appreciation for Philodemus' place in Roman intellectual history has had to wait on the decipherment of the charred remains of Philodemus' library, which was buried in Herculaneum by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. As improved texts and translations of Philodemus' writings have become available since the 1970s, scholars have taken a keen interest in his relations with leading Latin poets. The essays in this book, derived from papers presented at the First International Symposium on Philodemus, Vergil, and the Augustans held in 2000, offer a new baseline for understanding the effect of Philodemus and Epicureanism on both the thought and poetic practices of Vergil, Horace, and other Augustan writers. Sixteen leading scholars trace his influence on Vergil's early writings, the Eclogues and the Georgics, and on the Aeneid, as well as on the writings of Horace and others. The volume editors also provide a substantial introduction to Philodemus' philosophical ideas for all classicists seeking a fuller understanding of this pivotal figure.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction David Armstrong I. Early Vergil 1. Vergil's Farewell to Education (Catalepton 5) and Epicurus' Letter to Pythocles Diskin Clay 2. Philosophy's Harbor Francesca Longo Auricchio 3. Vergil's Epicureanism in His Early Poems Regine Chambert II. Eclogues and Georgics 4. Consolation in the Bucolic Mode: The Epicurean Cadence of Vergil's First Eclogue Gregson Davis 5. A Secret Garden: Georgics 4.116-148 W. R. Johnson 6. Vergil in the Shadow of Vesuvius Marcello Gigante III. The Aeneid: The Emotions 7. The Vocabulary of Anger in Philodemus' De ira and Vergil's Aeneid Giovanni Indelli 8. Anger, Philodemus' Good King, and the Helen Episode of Aeneid 2.567-589: A New Proof of Authenticity from Herculaneum Jeffrey Fish 9. Philodemus: Avocatio and the Pathos of Distance in Lucretius and Vergil Frederic M. Schroeder IV. The Aeneid: Piety and the Gods 10. Piety in Vergil and Philodemus Patricia A. Johnston 11. Vergil's De pietate: From Ehoiae to Allegory in Vergil, Philodemus, and Ovid Dirk Obbink 12. Emotions and Immortality in Philodemus On the Gods 3 and the Aeneid Michael Wigodsky V. The Aeneid: Aesthetics 13. Carmen inane: Philodemus' Aesthetics and Vergil's Artistic Vision Marilyn B. Skinner 14. Vergil and Music, in Diogenes of Babylon and Philodemus Daniel Delattre VI. Other Augustan Poets 15. Horace's Epistles 1 and Philodemus David Armstrong 16. Varius and Vergil: Two Pupils of Philodemus in Propertius 2.34? Francis Cairns Bibliography Contributors Index

About the Author :
David Armstrong is Professor of Classics at the University of Texas at Austin. Jeffrey Fish is Assistant Professor of Classics at Baylor University. PATRICIA A. JOHNSTON is Professor of Greek and Latin Philology and Literature at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. A past president of the Vergilian Society and founder and director of the Vergilian Society's annual Symposia Cumana, she has published extensively on Greek and Latin literature and culture, specializing in Vergil. Marilyn B. Skinner is Professor of Classics at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

Review :
"This is an outstanding collection. It is beautifully produced and provides a fascinating insight into one of the most promising and productive areas of current Vergilian scholarship." -- Karl Galinsky Vergilius