Giulio Celotto – författare

The main challenge in writing the history of Roman women is their silence, for they either did not themselves write, or what writing they did was not kept and transmitted. There are, however, a few welcome exceptions, such as the work of the Roman elegiac poet Sulpicia. This volume aims to bring the voice of the to the foreground: by acknowledging her as the author of part of Corpus Tibullianum 3, by appreciating the artistry of her work in terms of both poetic technique and engagement with previous literature, and by highlighting the pointedly feminine features of her poetry, which serve as interpretive keys to better understand not only her position in the elegiac tradition, but, more in general, the role of women in Augustan Rome. The chapters address a variety of topics: Sulpicia's commentary on and use of activities and characteristics traditionally considered feminine; Sulpicia's sophisticated style, particularly her allusive engagement with other poets; the question of what works can be attributed to Sulpicia; and the reception of Sulpicia's work in musical adaptations and possible future directions in the study of Latin elegy more broadly.

Compelled by the emperor Nero to commit suicide at age 25 after writing uncomplimentary poems, Latin poet Lucan nevertheless left behind a significant body of work, including the Bellum Civile (Civil War).  Sometimes also called the Pharsalia, this epic describes the war between Julius Caesar and Pompey.Author Giulio Celotto provides an interpretation of this civil war based on the examination of an aspect completely neglected by previous scholarship: Lucan’s literary adaptation of the cosmological dialectic of Love and Strife.

According to a reading that has found favor over the last three decades, the poem is an unconventional epic that does not conform to Aristotelian norms: Lucan composes a poem characterized by fragmentation and disorder, lacking a conventional teleology, and whose narrative flow is constantly delayed. Celotto’s study challenges this interpretation by illustrating how Lucan invokes imagery of cosmic dissolution,  but without altogether obliterating epic norms. The poem transforms them from within, condemning the establishment of the Principate and the Julio-Claudian dynasty.