Poem against the Gentiles

“A Poem Against the Gentiles” ( Latin Carmen contra Paganos, Carmen adversus Flavianum ) is a Christian poem written in the late IV - early V century. mocking adherence to paganism of the senatorial aristocracy of Rome. It is an important source on the history of Roman paganism of the IV century.

Manuscript Tradition and Publications

Only one manuscript of the poem has survived - compiled in the VI century. Codex Parisinus Latinus 8084, also known as Codex Putaneus. Despite the fact that the poem was known to European antiquaries of the early New Age, its first edition took place only in 1867. Later, the poem has withstood several critical editions and has been translated into all the main European languages.

Style

The poem is written by a dactyl hexameter , consists of 122 verses. The style of the poem is typical of Late Antiquity imitation of Latin poetry of the Golden Age.

Contents

The central role in the poem is played by the image of the prefect - the representative of the senatorial aristocracy of Rome and the follower of pagan cults, whose life and death were attacked by the author. The Christian author criticizes the prefect's participation in the pagan mysteries, his entourage and his attempts to attract Roman Christians to paganism. At the same time, the author caustically ridiculed pagan myths and religious practices.

Hero Identification Problem

Scientific polemic was caused by the problem of identifying the main character of the prefect - the pagan prefect, as well as questions about the time of the action, the period of writing the work and the authorship of the poem. Since the first edition of “Poems Against the Gentiles”, attempts have been made to identify the prefect with various prominent representatives of the pagan aristocracy of Rome in the second half of the 4th – early 5th centuries: Aviation Symmachus ^[1] , Gabinius Barbar Pompeian ^[2] and others. Currently, the most likely candidates Vettiy Agory Pretekstat ^[3] and Viry Nikomakh Flavian ^[4] are recognized as the prefect.

Editions

• Mommsen, T. 1870: Carmen codicis Parisini 8084 // Hermes 4, P. 351–63.
• Poem against the Gentiles (Carmen contra Paganos) / Per. with lat. M.A. Vedeshkina and A.A. Sochilina, comm. M.A. Vedeshkina // Scientific reports of BelGU. No. 8 (229). Vol. 38.16.2016, pp. 23–32.

Literature

• Vedeshkin, M.A. On the identification of the hero "Carmen contra Paganos" / Aristeus. 13.2016. P. 63–89.
• Adamik, B. 1995: Das sog. “Carmen contra Paganos” // Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 36, P. 185–233.
• Bloch, H. 1945: A New Document of the Last Pagan Revival in the West, 393-394 AD // The Harvard Theological Review. 38 (4), P. 199–244.
• Cameron, Al. 2011: The Last Pagans of Rome. Oxford - NY
• Cracco Ruggini, L. 1979: Il paganesimo romano tra religione e politica (384-394 dC): per una reinterpretazione del "Carmen contra paganos". Roma.
• Coṣkun, A. 2004: Virius Nicomachus Flavianus, Der Praefectus und Consul des “Carmen contra paganos” // Vigiliae Christianae 58 (2): P. 152–78.
• Jones, AHM, Martindale, JR, Morris, J. 1971. The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Volume IAD 260-395. Cambridge
• Manganaro, G. 1960. La reazione pagana a Roma nel 408-409 DC e il poemetto anonimo “contra paganos” // Giornale Italiano di Filologia. 13, P. 210-24.
• Manganaro, G. 1961: Il poemetto anonimo "contra paganos", Testo, traduzione e commento. Nuovo Didaskaleion 11: P. 23–45.
• Matthews, JF 1970: The Historical Setting of the “Carmen contra Paganos” (Cod. Par. Lat. 8084) // HZAG. 19 (4), P. 464–79.
• Mommsen, T. 1870: Carmen codicis Parisini 8084 // Hermes 4, P. 351–63.
• O'Donnell, JJ 1978: The Career of Virius Nicomachus Flavianus // Phoenix. 32 (2), P. 129–43.
• Mazzarino, S. 1974: La conversione del senato. Il carmen “contro i pagani“ e il problema dell '„èra costantiniana“ // Antico, tardoantico ed èra costantiniana, 1: Bari. P. 398-465.
• Resch, A. 2013: Nicomachus Flavianus Und Das Sogenannte Carmen Adversus Paganos. München.