Classical Imagery and the Joy of the Resurrection. Arsenios' Stichoi on the Sunday of the Resurrection

Abstract

In the Stichoi on the Sunday of the Resurrection, Arsenios of Corfu alludes to several couples from Classical mythology in the context of a springtime idyll. These mythological couples are not the ideal lovers the paradisic context of the poem makes them seem to be. This paper examines these allusions and discusses how Arsenios uses their mythological context to create a juxtaposition of the frustrated eroticism of Classical myth and the fulfillment of Pascha.

Keywords

• Arsenios of Corfu, Ekphrasis on Pascha, Resurrection