Was Eudocia a reader of Nonnus?

Abstract

This paper discusses some matching verbal formulae in the poems by Nonnus and Eudocia, which have previously been revealed by the author of the article. These are lexical intersections, the use of the same uncommon words as well as epic formulae and clichés. Some of them can be accounted for by the use of the same resources, Homer in the fi rst hand, as well as by the uniformity of the poetic language of the epoch. However, there are more than a dozen unique coincidences that do not occur elsewhere in ancient poetry. This allows us to talk about a certain creative interaction between the two poets. There arises a question about whose works are original and who was the borrower. From the point of view of the author of the article, it is more likely that it was Eudocia who borrowed the lexis and ready-made epic formulae from Nonnus, and not vice versa. In her texts, one can also identify some allusions to certain topics and images of Nonnus’ poetry. Since the dating of the texts of both authors is rather dubious, it cannot be made more precise by means of these coincidences. However, one can speak of the interest in Nonnus’ poetry in court circles of Constantinople.

Keywords

• Nonnus
• Eudocia
• epic formulae
• epic clichés
• lexical matches
• late ancient poetry
• Byzantine literature