Due to the variety of its subjects, its calendar-based structure, and its tendency to escape the boundaries of genre Ovid’s Fasti can at times give the impression of a disjointed and repetitive text. A key element of the poem, which at times seems to exacerbate this impression, is the multiplicity of voices and characters that present its information and inhabit its landscapes. By analyzing the characterization of these internal narrators and the characters with whom they interact, both from their own perspective and as revealed by their actions, this project shows that the Fasti is not disjoined and repetitive but intricately interwoven and intent on showcasing the variant and multifocal nature of Roman legend and practice. One of the clearest points of divergence among the Fasti’s narrators is on a topic crucial to the poem as well as its historical and political context: Rome’s foundation. My dissertation demonstrates the above through a thorough analysis of key foundational figures in the poem and their depictions of the evolution of Rome, particularly in reference to its landscape, from its pre-foundational state to the time of Augustus. My analysis follows the variant tempora (times) of Roman foundational legend and their characteristic landscapes as represented by Janus, the poet’s narratorial persona, Evander, Carmentis, and Hercules throughout the Fasti. I trace how each of them attempts to assert his or her own version of Rome and her past through a competition of voices within the text. I focus particularly on elements of violence, sacrifice, foreignness, cyclical repetition, birth and destruction, and gendered power in Roman legend and foundation. I use several methodologies in my approach, appropriating some elements of narratology and gender studies while focusing particularly on frequently overlooked elements of the text, including representations of space, the senses, and interacting details of self-representation by internal narrators. Through an analysis of these five figures my study begins to demonstrate an as yet untried approach to an enigmatic text which contributes to its further understanding from both a literary and a political standpoint, especially in the way that the Fasti’s multiplicity of Roman foundational variants stands opposed to the attempted early imperial streamlining of Roman legend. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Classics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester 2019. / February 19, 2019. / Fasti, Janus, Ovid, Roman foundation / Includes bibliographical references. / Laurel Fulkerson, Professor Directing Dissertation; Silvia Valisa, University Representative; Tim Stover, Committee Member; Jessica H. Clark, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_709065 |
| Contributors | Belinskaya, Anastasia (author), Fulkerson, Laurel (Professor Directing Dissertation), Valisa, Silvia (University Representative), Stover, Tim (Committee Member), Clark, Jessica Homan (Committee Member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of Classics (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, doctoral thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (271 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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