Date of Award
2008
Degree Name
Latin
College
College of Liberal Arts
Type of Degree
M.A.
Document Type
Thesis
First Advisor
E. Del Chrol
Second Advisor
Caroline Perkins
Third Advisor
Christina Franzen
Abstract
In Carmen 64, Catullus establishes Ariadne as an exemplum of a new type of hero whose uirtutes are motivated by love rather than by the desire for glory that motivated traditional male epic heroes. Catullus utilizes the ecphrasis, a literary device which is traditionally a digression from the main narrative, to place Ariadne in this new heroic role. The first chapter reviews the past scholarship of Carmen 64. The second chapter examines how Catullus makes Ariadne the exemplum of this new type of hero while presenting a negative portrayal of Theseus. The third chapter discusses how the wedding of Peleus and Thetis and the prophecy of Achilles are exempla of the praised amores and criticized uirtutes established in the portrayals of Ariadne and Theseus in the ecphrasis.
Subject(s)
Ariadne (Greek mythology) in literature.
Heroes - Mythology.
Women in literature.
Mythology, Greek in literature.
Catullus, Gaius Valerius.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Chad P., "Ariadne as the Exemplum of the Virtutes of Heroes in Catullus Carmen 64" (2008). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 513.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/513
Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons
