Education, Religion, and Literary Culture in the 4th Century CE. A Study of the Underworld Topos in Claudian's De raptu Proserpinae by Gabriela Ryser

Abstract

Reviewed by: Education, Religion, and Literary Culture in the 4th Century CE. A Study of the Underworld Topos in Claudian's De raptu Proserpinae by Gabriela Ryser Alison John Education, Religion, and Literary Culture in the 4th Century ce. A Study of the Underworld Topos in Claudian's De raptu Proserpinae Gabriela Ryser Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2020. Pp. 440. ISBN: 978-3-525-57321-1 In the final years of the fourth century Claudian began his De raptu Proserpinae (DRP), leaving it incomplete before his death in 404. Gabriela Ryser's study examines this epic treatment of the Proserpina myth, situating it within the literary, religious, and socio-political contexts of the late fourth century. By exploring Claudian's treatment of the underworld topos, central to both the epic genre and religio-philosophical debates about the afterlife, Ryser provides an important contribution to our understanding of the intersections of religion and literary culture in the late antique West. The first chapter serves as an introduction, situating the study within scholarly debates and outlining its main objectives. Ryser argues that while much of the previous scholarship on the DRP has been concerned with proving or disproving the "militantly pagan" under-tones of the poem on the one hand or dismissing it as a "second-rate" imitation of earlier Latin epic on the other hand, she is interested in examining the DRP in its own right. Arguing for the overall poetic coherence of the DRP, Ryser sees Claudian not just as an imitator but an innovator and considers the influences of both religion and rhetorical education on Claudian's poetic programme. Chapter 2 discusses the function of mythology in the religious and literary landscapes of the ancient world, from archaic Greece to Late Antiquity. Ryser asks to what extent mythological literature carried religious meaning and authority, and ultimately emphasizes the overarching literary quality of poetic representations of the classical gods. While it was not impossible for pagan readers to extract religious meaning from literary texts about the gods, such literary depictions did not necessarily have the same authority as philosophical notions of the gods or ritual practice. Central to Ryser's argument is the fact that classical [End Page 308] literature about the gods, such as epic, formed the basis of Roman literary education. The primary purpose of classical schools of grammar and rhetoric was never to teach polytheism, but rather to teach the literary and rhetorical skills that would prepare young men for public life and socialize them to be members of the Roman cultural and political elite. Crucially, Christians also attended the classical schools of grammar and rhetoric and, by the late fourth century, were just as invested and interested in mythological literature as were pagans. Mythological literature was part and parcel of Roman education, and this education, in turn, defined the Roman social elite. As Ryser argues, "while a mythological epic, for example, might have been theologically interpreted by people like Praetextatus, there was no obligation to do so for every pagan and all the less for Christians, it being foremost a work of poetry" (58). Mythological references and allusions in Claudian's DRP, therefore, should not necessarily be interpreted as carrying pagan religious messages. The third chapter surveys depictions of the underworld in earlier Latin epic, including Vergil's Aeneid (6.236–899), Ovid's Metamorphoses (4.432-80, 10.1–77, 11.1–66), Lucan's Pharsalia (6.507–830, 9.1–14), the Argonautica (1.730–850, 3.377–458) of Valerius Flaccus, Silius Italicus's Punica (13.395–895), and the Thebaid (2.1–54, 4.406–645, 7.794–8.126) of Statius. Ryser takes a broad approach to what constitutes an "underworld" scene, including not only the familiar heroic catabasis, but also scenes of necromancy and the calling up of spirits. This allows Ryser to consider Claudian's inspiration for his depictions of Pluto's realm and its infernal characters more comprehensively. Chapter 4 turns to the DRP itself. The first section discusses Claudian's use and innovation of earlier depictions of the Proserpina myth, including Ovid's versions in the Metamorphoses and the Fasti, the Homeric Hymn...