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Information about this book was provided by its publisher in 2011. The description given is not an independent review. All details are subject to change, especially pricing. Please use the contact links at the top of this page to notify any innacuracy.

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Robert Shorrock.
The Myth of Paganism: Nonnus, Dionysus and the World of Late Antiquity.
Publisher: Duckworth Academic.
Series: Classical Literature & Society.
Publication due: February 2011.
Page count: 224pp.

Publisher's recommended price
Paperback ISBN 9780715636688, £18.00

Description:

With the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman world in the fourth century AD, the role of the poet underwent a radical transformation. In place of the traditional poet of the Muses there emerged a new figure, claiming inspiration and authority from Christ. The poet of Christ soon came to eclipse the poet of the Muses, and in doing so established a conceptual framework that still drives modern approaches to the period. Christian poetry is taken "seriously" as making a relevant and valuable contribution to our understanding of the late antique world; by contrast "pagan" or "secular" poetry is largely ignored, as though it were devoid of meaning.

The Myth of Paganism seeks to re-evaluate the role of "pagan" poetry in late antiquity. Instead of maintaining a strict dichotomy between "pagan" and "Christian" , it presents a broader definition of these poets as active participants and collaborators in the creation of late antique culture. Attention focuses on an exploration of the contemporary resonance of Nonnus' Dionysiaca - traditionally regarded as a "pagan" epic in terms of its theme and content, yet in all probability the work of a "Christian" poet responsible for a Homeric-style retelling of St John's Gospel.