Dominating Nature in Vergil 'S Georgics and Statius 'Silvae
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DOMINATING NATURE IN VERGIL‘S GEORGICS AND STATIUS‘ SILVAE By DUSTIN HEINEN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2011 1 © 2011 Dustin Heinen 2 To my dearest wife Erin: ῾Η πη π τε π πτει. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to begin by thanking my dearest friends Eric Armstrong, Travis and Christy Richardson, Steven Kotecki, and Stephen Burgin. The many conversations we have had over the years about life, graduate school, and family have been a constant source of encouragement to me. I also appreciate my many colleagues in the Classics graduate department at the University of Florida. Your convivial and supportive attitude has made this long process enjoyable. Andrew Alwine, Todd Bohlander, and David Hoot in particular have had no small part in helping me shape my ideas, build my arguments, and refine my prose. The debt of gratitude I owe to the faculty members at the University of Florida is beyond expression. I have learned a great deal from their congeniality and respect towards students and each other. Without naming the entire department, it is difficult to single out individuals who have taken time to assist me as a teacher, scholar, and colleague. Robert Wagman has been especially helpful and encouraging over the years, both as an adviser for my Master of Arts degree and a counselor during my time here. I thank Mary Watt for her willingness to serve on the committee. Mary Ann Eaverly helped my writing and was always available for me to stop by when I needed feedback on a new idea. Timothy Johnson aided me throughout the writing process and has been a mentor in and out of the classroom from my first day as a graduate student. I particularly thank Carole Newlands, who agreed to be an external member of my committee. She offered support and many helpful comments through every step of the writing. Finally, I thank my adviser Victoria Pagán, who sometimes pushed me along, sometimes walked beside me, and sometimes dragged me towards the realization of this project. It was in her seminar that I first read the Silvae, and she has been by my side since then. It has been important to know that through every day of this process she expected the best from me and devoted her best to me. I conclude with thanks for my beloved 4 wife Erin and my precious daughter Miriam. The knowledge that every hour I labored on this project was stolen from time with them drove me to work hard and work well. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................11 2 THE NATURE OF PROGRESS ............................................................................................17 The Term Nature in Its Semantic and Cultural Context .........................................................18 The Moral Intersection of Progress and Nature ......................................................................26 3 THE NATURE OF ROMAN THOUGHT .............................................................................34 Pliny The Elder and Seneca the Younger ...............................................................................35 Statius and Vergil ...................................................................................................................42 Improving Nature: The Villa of Pollius Felix (Silvae 2.2) ..............................................42 Changing Nature: The Temple of Hercules (Silvae 3.1) .................................................47 Nature Lost: The Banquet of Domitian (Silvae 4.2) ........................................................51 Paving Nature‘s Way: The Via Domitiana (Silvae 4.3) ..................................................53 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................57 4 THE NATURE OF EXPRESSION ........................................................................................59 Farming and Fighting .............................................................................................................61 Martial Language in the Georgics and Silvae .........................................................................74 Unending Labor: The Introduction of Agriculture (Georgics 1.143–180) ......................75 The Fight of the Farmer: Vergil‘s Quincunx (Georgics 2.277–287) ..............................83 Passive Control: The Villa of Manilius Vopiscus Silvae 1.3.20–33 ...............................85 Active Control: The Villa of Pollius Felix (Silvae 2.2.13–35) ........................................88 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................93 5 THE NATURE OF DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................94 Origin and Development of Ekphrasis in Theory ...................................................................97 Ekphrasis in the Silvae and Georgics ...................................................................................112 Ekphrasis of Change in a Public Work: The Via Domitiana (Silvae 4.3) .....................113 Ekphrasis of Change in a Private Work: The Villa of Pollius Felix (Silvae 2.2) ..........116 New Soil: Different Types of Earth (Georgics 2.203–211) ..........................................121 Vergil‘s Georgic Temple: The Poetic Temple (Georgics 3.10–39) ..............................123 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................129 6 6 THE NATURE OF THE HOME ..........................................................................................131 Soft boundaries: The Villa of Manilius Vopiscus (Silvae 1.3) ......................................140 Expanding Boundaries: The Villa of Pollius Felix (Silvae 2.2) ....................................151 7 CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................154 LIST OF REFERENCES .............................................................................................................157 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................166 7 Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy DOMINATING NATURE IN VERGIL‘S GEORGICS AND STATIUS‘ SILVAE By Dustin Heinen May 2011 Chair: Victoria Pagán Major: Classical Studies The Silvae of Statius, composed over the second half of the first century CE, is a collection of unique Latin poems that includes the first full-length epigrammatic ekphraseis of statues and private dwellings. The novelty of the lighter works of Statius presents certain challenges in interpretation. Modern authors question their place in the literary tradition, whether they are designed to promote Statius‘ own poetic agenda or subvert cultural beliefs, or if they are more valuable for studies of material wealth and social power than for their literary significance. One quarter of the poems in the Silvae are lengthy ekphraseis of statues, villas, temples, and other structures. An examination of six of these poems (1.1, 1.3, 2.2, 3.1, 4.2, and 4.3) reveals that Statius categorizes large works of art and buildings according to the setting of their natural environment. Throughout the Silvae, man-made objects are seen to improve nature, and a personified nature shows appreciation for human endeavors. A close interaction between humans and their environment brings to mind a poem composed over 100 years before the Silvae. The Georgics of Vergil consists of four books of didactic poetry about agriculture and corollary practices. Although Vergil recapitulates information from his agricultural predecessors such as Cato and Varro, his primary focus is poetry, not farming. Books 1 and 2 of the Georgics are centered on agricultural practices and the significance of human interaction with nature; the 8 second half of the work is devoted to specific practices such as husbandry and apiculture. Thus it is possible to view the first and second books form a unit that serve as an interpretive lens through which the Silvae can be better understood. Agricultural practices of the former speak well to the landscape practices of the latter. This dissertation evaluates Georgics 1–2 and a short selection from Georgics 3 alongside the six selected Silvae from three related perspectives before positing a new interpretation of ekphrasis in the Silvae. First, nature is shown to be a subjective construct, and the meaning of the term for each author, as well as their predecessors and successors, is distinguished. Vergil describes nature as the environment in its pristine form before any human intervention. For Statius, nature is a generative force, but he sees the role of humanity as an augmenting and synergistic engagement with nature. Both authors view nature as the initial process, but Vergil