Poetry and Orations. Nazianzen comparing....docx (original) (raw)
This paper discusses some epigrams of Palladas (AP 9.175; 9.487) and Gregory of Nazianzus (AP 8.156) which (to some degree cryptically) share features with the letter as a form of communication. Gregory also wrote seven verse epistles, which stand out for their originality in Greek literature, as verse letters are only found earlier in Latin literature. Why did Gregory choose to write poems rather than prose letters on these occasions? How are these poems related to his prose letters to the same people or to those written in similar circumstances? The anthology contains the Greek text, together with an English translation and a commentary, of the epigrams mentioned above, as well as Gregory's verse letters II.2.2 (To Julian) and II.2.6 (To Olympias).
Ethical teachings of Classical Antiquity philosophers in the poetry of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus
Ethical teachings of Classical Antiquity philosophers in the poetry of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, 2019
The paper focuses on the ethical teachings of Classical Antiquity philosophers in the poetry of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, especially on the parallels between the author's work and the Cynics and the Stoics. The syncretic nature of Gregory's work, reflected in the assimilation of the teachings of ancient philosophical schools and the then expanding Christianity creates conditions for the explanation and highlighting of basic human virtues. Gregory of Nazianzus' legacy also draws on the teachings of such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle, but he always approaches them from the perspective of a strictly Christian worldview. He understands philosophy as a moral underlying basis from which one can draw inspiration for a virtuous and happy life. Gregory thinks that philosophy cannot harm Christians in the pursuit of a virtuous life. Nevertheless, Christian teachings and God are the highest authority. They stand above all philosophical schools or ideas advanced by specific philosophers. Gregory's moral poetry thus directs his readers, if they are to deserve eternal life, to follow the commandments, which is possible only if one lives a practical and virtuous life. The Golden Age of Patristic Literature, as the 4 th and 5 th century CE are often referred to, provides an abundance of material of great theological and literary significance. It is a period in which the declining culture of pagan antiquity meets the successfully expanding Christianity. The two cultural paradigms are also confronted in the works of St. Gregory of Nazianzus-a theologian and one of the most important church fathers of the Eastern Christian tradition, who also excelled as rhetorician and poet. He taught and explained basic questions of faith, provided reading of the Scripture, expressed his opinions on education, preached and praised, contemplated on being, offered insight into his innermost thoughts, pondered moral dilemmas, and, in doing so, he did not hesitate to draw on the ancient pagan philosophers, selecting worthy ideas and offering them to young Christians. Ultimately, each ancient philosophical system comprises ethical teachings or criticism of morality, calls for a certain way of behaving and entails life choices. Moral education was highly regarded by the ancient Greeks. This is evidenced by the statements of the seven sages 3 gathered in Delphi in order to sacrifice the fruit of their wisdom to Apollo in his temple. The sages' votive offerings were the inscriptions of words recognized today by the whole world (e.g. Know yourself, Not too much of anything). 4 The inventory of these and other maxims and adages was engraved in stone near the temple. The habit of displaying similar inscriptions in public places, so that passers-by could always see them, spread throughout the Greek world (Hadot, 2004, p. 21). The tradition of educating the youth (παιδεία; paideia) in Greece had been flourishing since the time of Homer and maintained by those who had the so-called ἀρετή (arete), an ability inherited by virtue of noble lineage, since it pertained to members of the aristocracy. The word ἀρετή denotes something that is appreciated, conspicuous and inspiring awe. In Homer's times it was prowess in battle and physical perfection. Nevertheless, the Greeks had gradually shifted from admiring military
Generation (γενεά) in Gregory Nazianzens poem On the Son
Akropolis journal, pp. 169-184, 2017
The article examines the nature of the dogmatics found in the poetry written by Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-390) through a particular case-study, the poem On the Son. It demonstrates that his lyric composition contains the same doctrine conveyed by the orations authored by him and exposes the manner in which he employs similar terminology in works belonging to both genres. In order to attain its objective my article compares the above-mentioned piece with Orations 29 and 30 that bear the same title.
The Human Being in the Poetry of Gregory of Nazianzus
Studia Patristica. Vol. 115. Papers presented at the Eighteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2019 Edited by Markus Vinzent , 2021
The poems of Gregory of Nazianzus are meant to bring together the desire for beauty emerging from contemplation (θεωρία) and the progress towards the good. They express the pedagogical intention to lead young people to more useful teachings, echoing the attitude towards Greek poetry in Plato’s Republic, Plutarch’s De audiendis poetis, and Basil’s Ad adolescentes. The article investigates how the verses considered as a pleasant medicine (φάρμακον) depict the human condition in its present fragility, as well as in its journey to deification. It analyses metaphors attached to human vulnerability (e.g. swan, ant, ship, shadows, dream, dust, the movement in circle) in contrast with the motif of light reflecting the participation in the divine. Moreover, I approach the notion of ‘image of God’ imprinted in the human being, and I analyse how the divine image makes possible the ascent (return) from ‘misery’ and ‘mortal condition’ to resplendence, spiritualisation and incorruption.
This paper discusses the presence of emotions in the autobiographical and epigrammatic poetry of Gregory of Nazianzus. Gregory’s poetic corpus includes emotional descriptions of personal events, a long poem ‘against anger’, as well as numerous funerary epigrams on family members. The paper focuses on the emotions of fear, shame and anger, as they appear mostly in Gregory’s De Vita Sua. A close study of these cases throws light on Gregory’s rhetorical techniques, while some of his references to fear reveal that he is not unwilling to speak of his own personal weaknesses. The paper also explores some particularly poetic ways in which a late-antique Christian poet conveyed emotions, such as the triumph of the resurrection and the joy of baptism.
A commentary on Gregory of Nazianzus, AP 8.2
Graeco-Latina Brunensia
This article proposes a formal and linguistic commentary on an epigram by Gregory of Nazianzus (AP 8.21). It then makes some general observations. The poem belongs to a series of epigrams dedicated to Gregory's father, who is also the persona loquens. The poet starts with a well-known scriptural quotation from the Book of Micah (5) about how small Bethlehem is and extends the same concept to Nazianzus, the village whose spiritual care Gregory's father has entrusted to him. In each case, the town's small size corresponds to its inversely proportional spiritual importance. The formal solutions adopted in the epigram, specifically the use of the adjective τυτθός, reveal the poet's admiration for and imitation of Callimachus, but also his originality in renewing pagan poetic language with the purposeful insertion of Christian vocabulary. An area for further research concerns the presence of elements of the most widespread epic diction of Gregory's time (such as the increased use of datives in-εσσι), as found in the Sibylline Oracles and Manetho's Apotelesmatics.
RESPONDING TO MISFORTUNE: REPRESENTATION AND REGRET Cristina Cocola (Gent): The heritage of the Psalms in Byzantine penitential poetry The presentation aims to outline the actual influence of the Psalms on Byzantine poetry, with a special attention to penitential poems (κατανυκτικά), since this kind of poetry shares with the Psalms peculiar elements related to self-expression and contrition. Important for this influence is the connection between the Psalms and catanyctic hymnography in liturgy.