Kenney_and_Clausen B.M.W.(eds.) - Get a Free Blog

BIOGRAPHY
Laomedon to the capture of Troy by the Greeks. A preface attributes the
Latin translation to Cornelius Nepos, who is said to have dedicated it to
Sallust. This is mere mystification. A date in the fifth or sixth century is suggested
by the language, which is less classical than that of Dictys. Like the
Ephemeris of Dictys, Dares' work is doubtless based on a Greek original,
but no trace of this has so far been found.
The history of Latin hagiography falls outside the scope of the present
volume, and the Lives of Saints "written in the period under review can be dealt
with very briefly, with one important exception. Three main classical literary
genres contributed to the formation of the model followed by the typical
saint's life. These are the report of the trial and execution of the martyr, often
comprising authentic or spurious documents, the biography of the philosopher
or man of letters, and the account of the revelation of the superhuman powers
of the god in human guise or the man in a special relationship to the gods.
All three are found in various proportions in pagan texts such as the Life of
Apollonius ofTyana by Philostratus II and in certain of the Lives of the Sophists
by Eunapius. The Latin Life of Cyprian by his disciple Pontius, which survives
in a much interpolated form, still concentrates on the martyrdom of its subject,
and deals only with the last few years of his life. The Life of Ambrose by
pseudo-Paulinus and the Life of Augustine by Possidius remain much more
within classical patterns of biography. The three Lives of eastern monks
written by Jerome, those of Paul, Malchus and Hilarion, contain more elements
of aretalogy, as the miraculous ascetic feats of their subjects form the main
subject of the narration. The fascinating Life of Martin of Tours by Sulpicius
Severus combines a narrative of the exploits of its hero with the revelation
of his superhuman powers, culminating in his raising of a dead man to life.
There is little trace of Christian autobiography until the end of the fourth
century, though Jerome records a certain Aquilius Severus from Spain who died
in the reign of Valentinian and who wrote a work containing ' totius suae
uitae statum' in prose and verse under the title Konro«jTpo