<p>Virgil's Georgics has been the subject of a daunting number of articles, studies and commentaries. Of the many problems associated with the work perhaps the greatest difficulty has arisen in assessing the Aristaeus epyllion, G. 4.315-558. Numerous attempts have been made to interpret the passage and to explain its connection with the rest of Book 4 and with the whole of the Georgics. Many opinions have been expressed (quot homines, tot sententiae); however, none has been deemed completely satisfactory and none has been universally accepted. I have chosen not to add to the already vast body of scholarship dealing with these issues but to approach the epyllion from a different perspective.</p> <p>Despite its importance - it is, after all, the only existing extended narrative by Virgil other than the Aeneid, which it predates - the Aristaeus epyllion has not been the subject of a single exhaustive study. I have attempted, therefore, to treat the passage in isolation, tacitly accepting that it is connected with the rest of the work. My study includes a reappraisal (with, I trust, fresh insights) of the relevant mythological background and structure of the piece. Its literary form, the epyllion, is also discussed and a more detailed examination of setting and character than has been undertaken previously is presented. Finally, I offer a detailed critical appreciation in which Virgil's narrative technique, his use of literary models (especially, but not exclusively, Homer) and features of sound, rhythm and diction receive comment.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Two of the best known examples of the Hellenistic epyllion are the Hecale by Callimachus and poem 64 by Catullus. Both poems feature Theseus, a traditional hero whose mythology dates to Homer and Hesiod. Callimachus chose an episode from the Theseus tradition which highlighted his positive side, while Catullus picked a chapter from the mythic stores which put him in the worst possible light. This paper will examine the two poet's use of mythological material - how they suppressed, included and altered the earlier traditions - to make their very antithetical cases for Theseus. In addition to Theseus, I will examine other myths to determine if their treatment of these is consistent or at odds with their handling of Theseus. The thesis of this paper is that Callimachus had a program to present the Greek heroes of old in a favorable light and Catullus's agenda was to display their flaws. This paper will suggest that the reason for their differing viewpoints can be found, at least partly, in the contemporary historical context in which they respectively wrote.

This thesis deals with translation and interpretation of pseudovergilian epyllion Ciris, which tells a story of traitorous princess of Megara, Scylla, who betrays her father Nísos by cutting off his magical purple lock. With it she surrenders the entire city to the enemy Minos in order to secure his love. Her plan ultimately fails and as a result she is transformed into a brand new bird named the ciris. The first part of the thesis provides a literary-theoretical study of the epyllion based on comparison with the sources of the myth and other latin poems, as it seems as if Ciris was composed by an anonymous young disciple in a late latin cento style but only published in his older age. Some ascribe it to young Virgil or Cornelius Gallus. In the course of the study the following questions will be answered: Is Scylla's transformation a liberation or punishment for her crime? What is the role of nutrix in the epyllion and what is her literary origin? How does the author deal with the weaving metaphore? The second part of the thesis offers a first prosaic translation of Ciris into czech language with a humble commentary where deemed necessary.

This thesis deals with translation and interpretation of pseudovergilian epyllion Ciris, which tells a story of traitorous princess of Megara, Scylla, who betrays her father Nísos by cutting off his magical purple lock. With it she surrenders the entire city to the enemy Minos in order to secure his love. Her plan ultimately fails and as a result she is transformed into a brand new bird named the ciris. The first part of the thesis provides a literary-theoretical study of the epyllion based on comparison with the sources of the myth and other latin poems, as it seems as if Ciris was composed by an anonymous young disciple in a late latin cento style but only published in his older age. Some ascribe it to young Virgil or Cornelius Gallus. In the course of the study the following questions will be answered: Is Scylla's transformation a liberation or punishment for her crime? What is the role of nutrix in the epyllion and what is her literary origin? How does the author deal with the weaving metaphore? The second part of the thesis offers a first prosaic translation of Ciris into czech language with a humble commentary where deemed necessary.

The thesis consists of detailed commentary on the first 201 lines of Catullus 64, together with an edited text and apparatus criticus. It represents about half a planned commentary on the whole poem, which will also include an introduction. The commentary begins by discussing the poem’s Argonautic opening, its use of allusion to negotiate generic relationships with epic and tragedy, and its exploration of narrative, pictorial and first-person ‘lyric’ modes. As the narrative jumps to Peleus’ wedding, the commentary examines the complicated moral signals about Roman luxury and the golden age sent by the description of the gleaming palace surrounded by abandoned fields. The transition to the description of Ariadne prompts an examination of how this ‘disobedient’ ecphrasis emphasises details that a picture could not literally convey, together with an analysis of the male narrator’s objectifying presentation of a woman in distress. The ecphrasis proper is then disrupted by a ‘flashback’ covering Ariadne’s first encounter with Theseus and his fight with the Minotaur: the commentary explores the ways in which shifting focalisation complicates the reader’s judgement of Theseus’ heroism. Finally, the thesis looks at Ariadne’s speech as an intertextual node, investigating the meanings generated by its relationships with other speeches from both earlier and later in Greek and Roman poetic traditions, and examining how each theme or topos is used in this particular situation both by the alluding poet and by Ariadne herself. More discursive notes introducing the various sections are interspersed with shorter lemmata considering textual, metrical, linguistic and cultural-historical issues as well as literary interpretation. The commentary aims both to open up the possibilities of meaning offered by individual words and phrases, and to advance critical understanding of key aspects of the whole poem, such as its narratorial voice, engagement with visuality and place in literary history.