Greek biblical epic

The term ‘Greek biblical epic’ is ambiguous because it suggests two concepts\nthat have to be nuanced. It seems to refer to a subgenre of epic, but whether\nat all these poems can be considered as a group in terms of genre is doubtful. Alternative\nlabels, which are sometimes used, are biblical paraphrase (which widens\nthe scope to non-hexametric paraphrases) and cento poetry (which points out\nthe formal relation with cento poetry on other topics, but separates Eudocia from\nNonnus). One may also wonder to which degree the Greek examples of hexametric\npoetry with biblical topics indeed deserve the label ‘epic’ if at first sight their epic\ncharacter is restricted to their versification and elements of vocabulary and style.\nNonetheless, this chapter prefers the term ‘biblical epic’ over ‘biblical paraphrase’\nbecause of the subtle presence of epic structural elements it aims to show in the\ntwo examples under consideration.\nThe first part of the chapter focuses on microstructural elements in Nonnus’\nParaphrase, which give his Gospel narrative epic grandeur.Moving from very small\nto slightly larger such elements, the chapter presents an analysis of the function\nof epithets, the occurrence of semi-formulaic speech introductions, the use of\ncolourful descriptions of the passing of time, and the presence of a full-blown\nekphrasis of a lamp as the poem’s lengthiest ‘original’ passage (i.e. without direct\nequivalent in the Gospel of John).\nThe second part of the chapter deals with the Homerocentones, which by definition\nconsist of epic ‘building blocks’, i.e. of lines from Homerwhich are reordered\nto tell the story of the Old Testament and (mainly) the Gospels. This part of the\nchapter, therefore, necessarily focuses on different parameters. It looks at the\noverall structure of the Homerocentones (in the so-called ‘first redaction’), at the\nepic elements in the proem and at the way the centonist makes use of Homeric\ntype-scenes (e.g. xenia and banquet) to give shape to similar scenes in the Gospels

Art · EPIC · Epistemology · Epithet · Gospel · Linguistics · Literature · Narrative · Paraphrase · Poetry · Wonder · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy

• Approaching the ‘Spiritual Gospel’

  Roberta Franchi•Brill’s Companion to Nonnus of…•2016

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• Prolegomenon to the Homeric Centos

  M D Usher•The American Journal of Philology•1997

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• Brill’s Companion to Nonnus of Panopolis

  Domenico Accorinti•Brill’s Companion to Nonnus of…•2016

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• Homeric Stitchings

  Robert Schmiel, M D Usher•Phoenix•1999

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