There was Neither Victory nor Defeat Atypical Amoebaean Contests in Ancient Pastoral Poetry

Brendan Rabon

Date of Award

2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Rohrbacher, David

Keywords

Pastoral Poetry, Amoebaean Contests, Theocritus, Vergil, Siculus, Calpurnis

Area of Concentration

Classics

Abstract

The hallmark of pastoral poetry is the amoebaean contest: a poetic struggle between two feuding herdsmen which traditionally ends with one contender being named the victor. My thesis, however, concerns itself with amoebaean contests which do not function in this manner. Each of my three chapters is a case study of pastoral poems (Theocritus� Idyll 6, Vergil�s Eclogue 10, Calpurnius Siculus� Eclogue 6) which are exceptional in how they deviate from the standard type. These atypical amoebaean contests are, I suggest, a sub-subgenre within pastoral. Such contests, I argue, contain the seeds of innovation within the pastoral genre. Each atypical contest, through its break from tradition, advances new directions within both the subgenre of amoebaean contests and pastoral poetry itself. In this thesis, I have endeavored to show how both an interest in and a study of this pastoral subgenre depends upon the four topoi of amoebaean contests: singers, judge, stakes, outcome. By studying how these topoi are traditionally employed, one can then understand both the techniques by which they are altered and also the effects these changes have on the subgenre.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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