Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T05:22:23.188Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Varius Rufus, Thyestes and the appetites of Antony1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2013

Matthew Leigh
Matthew Leigh
Affiliation:
University of Exeter
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

In 29 B.C., at the ludi Actiaci held to celebrate the victory of Octavian over the forces of Antony and Cleopatra, Rome witnessed the first performance of one of the most celebrated of Roman tragedies, the Thyestes of Varius Rufus. Later critics are in agreement as to the quality of the piece: Curiatius Maternus in the Dialogue on Orators of Tacitus rates it equal to the Medea of Ovid; Quintilian describes it as comparable to any Greek tragedy; Philargyrius in a note to Eclogues 8.6 goes as far as to dub it the greatest of all tragedies (omnibus tragicis praeferenda). More intriguingly, at least one contemporary was extremely taken with the play, for a note in the eighth-century Codex Parisinus 7530 and the ninth-century Codex Casanatensis 1086 indicates that Varius was paid one million sesterces for his efforts. That that contemporary was the organiser of the Actian games, either Octavian himself or a close associate acting as intermediary, is not in dispute. What is at issue is the political and ideological significance of a tragedy on the theme of Atreus and Thyestes which could make it so valuable a part of the celebration of the victory of the new regime. It is to this problem that this paper is addressed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society (Second Series) , Volume 42 , 1997 , pp. 171 - 197
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s). Published online by Cambridge University Press 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Barnes, T. D. (1981) ‘Curiatius Maternus’, Hermes 109: 382–4.Google Scholar
Béranger, J. (1935) ‘Tyrannus. Notes sur la Notion de Tyrannie chez les Romains Particulièrement à l'Époque de César et de Cicéron’, REL 13: 85–94.Google Scholar
Berry, D. (1992) ‘The Criminals in Virgil's Tartarus: Contemporary Allusions in Aeneid 6.621–4’, CQ N. S. 42.2: 416–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bilinski, B. (1957) Accio ed i Gracchi. Contributo alla Storia della Plebe e della Tragedia Romana, Accademia Polacca di Scienze e Lettere, Biblioteca di Roma, Conferenze, Fasc. 3, Roma.Google Scholar
Burkert, W. (1972) Homo Necans. The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Ritual and Myth, tr. Bing, P., Berkeley – Los Angeles – London.Google Scholar
Buxton, R. (1987) ‘Wolves and Werewolves in Greek Thought’, in Interpretations of Greek Mythology, ed. Bremmer, J., London, 60–79.Google Scholar
Cameron, A. (1967) ‘Tacitus and the Date of Curiatius Maternus' Death’, CR N.S. 17: 258–61.Google Scholar
Courtney, E. (1993) The Fragmentary Latin Poets, Oxford.Google Scholar
Cova, P. V. (1989) ‘Sulla Datazione del Tieste di Vario’, Athenaeum NS 66: 19–29.Google Scholar
Delarue, F. (1985) ‘Le Thyeste de Varius’, Hommages à Henri Bardon, edd. Renard, M. and Laurens, P., Bruxelles, 100–23.Google Scholar
Della Corte, F. (1985) ‘La Furia Nella “Saeva Pelopis Domus”’, Xenia, Scritti in Onore di Pietro Treves. Roma (1985) 77–81 = Opuscula Vol. 10, Genova (1987) 71–5.Google Scholar
Dewar, M. (1988) ‘Turning the Tables: Varius, Virgil and Lucan’, CQ N. S. 38.2: 561–2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorandi, T. (1982) Filodemo. Il Buon Re Secondo Omero, Napoli.Google Scholar
Dunkle, J. R. (1967) ‘The Greek Tyrant and Roman Political Invective of the Late Republic’, TAPhA 98: 151–71.Google Scholar
Dunkle, J. R. (1971) ‘The Rhetorical Tyrant in Roman Historiography: Sallust, Livy and Tacitus’, CW 65: 12–20.Google Scholar
Erskine, A. (1991) ‘Hellenistic Monarchy and Roman Political Invective’, CQ N.S. 41.1: 106–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fantham, E. (1972) Comparative Studies in Republican Latin Imagery. Toronto.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, T. (1937) ‘Curiatius Maternus and his Tragedies’, AJPh 58: 225–9.Google Scholar
Gabba, E. (1964) ‘Studi su Dionigi d'Alicarnasso III. La Proposta di Legge Agraria di Sp. Cassio’, Athenaeum N.S. 42: 29–41.Google Scholar
Hollis, A. S. (1977) ‘L. Varius Rufus, De Morte (Frs. 1–4 Morel)’, CQ N. S. 27: 187–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hollis, A. S. (1996) ‘Virgil's Friend Varius Rufus’, PVS 22: 19–33.Google Scholar
Homeyer, H. (1977) ‘Die Quellen zu Ciceros Tod’, Helikon 17: 56–96.Google Scholar
Housman, A. E. (1916) ‘Ovidiana’, CQ 10: 130–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jal, P. (1961) ‘Remarques sur la Cruauté à Rome pendant les Guerres Civiles (de Sylla à Vespasien)’, BAGB 475–501.Google Scholar
Jocelyn, H. D. (1969) The Tragedies of Ennius, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Jocelyn, H. D. (1978) Review of Lefèvre, Gnomon 50: 778–80.Google Scholar
Keitel, E. (1992) ‘“Foedum Spectaculum” and Related Motifs in Tacitus Histories II–III’, RhM 135.3–4: 342–51.Google Scholar
Kiso, A. (1984) The Lost Sophocles, New York.Google Scholar
Kragelund, P. (1987) ‘Vatinius, Nero and Curiatius Maternus’, CQ N.S. 37.1: 197–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laffi, U. (1967) ‘Il Mito di Silla’, Athenaeum N.S. 45: 177–213 and 255–77.Google Scholar
Lana, I. (1958–1959) ‘L'Atreo di Accio’, AAT 93: 293–383.Google Scholar
Lanciotti, S. (1977–1978) ‘Silla e la Tipologia del Tiranno nella Letteratura Latina Repubblicana’, QS 6: 129–53 and 8: 191–225.Google Scholar
Lanza, D. (1977) Il Tiranno e it suo Pubblico, Torino.Google Scholar
La Penna, A. (1979a) ‘Funzione e Interpretazioni del Mito nella Tragedia Arcaica Latina’, Fra Teatro, Poesia e Politico Romana, Torino, 49–104.Google Scholar
La Penna, A. (1979b) ‘Atreo e Tieste sulle Scene Romane’, Fra Teatro, Poesia e Politico Romana, Torino, 127–42.Google Scholar
La Penna, A. (1979c) ‘Cassio Parmense nella Storia del Teatro Latino’, Fra Teatro, Poesia e Politica Romana, Torino, 143–51.Google Scholar
La Penna, A. (1983a) ‘Il Ritratto Paradossale da Silla a Petronio’, Aspetti del Pensiero Storico Latino, Torino, 193–221.Google Scholar
La Penna, A. (1983b) ‘Ancora sul Ritratto Paradossale’, Aspetti del Pensiero Storico Latino, Torino, 223–30.Google Scholar
La Penna, A. (1993) ‘Antonio Come Personaggio “Paradossale”’, Il Triumvirato Costituente alla Fine della Repubblica Romana, Scritti in Onore di Mario Attilio Levi, edd. Gara, A. and Foraboschi, D., Como, 93–111.Google Scholar
Lefèvre, E. (1976) Der Thyestes des Lucius Varius Rufus, Mainz.Google Scholar
Litchfield, H. W. (1914) ‘National Exempla Virtutis in Roman Literature’, HSPh 25: 1–71.Google Scholar
Mainoldi, C. (1984) L'Image du Chien et du Loup dans la Grèce Ancienne d'Homère à Platon, Paris.Google Scholar
Mastrocinque, A. (1983–1984) ‘La Cacciata di Tarquinio il Superbo. Tradizione Romana e Letteratura Greca’, Athenaeum N. S. 61.3–4: 457–80 and 62.1–2: 210–29.Google Scholar
Murray, O. (1965) ‘Philodemus On The Good King According To Homer’, JRS 55 (1965) 161–82.Google Scholar
Parsons, P. J. ed. (1974) The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Vol. 42, London.Google Scholar
Pelling, C. B. R. (1988) Plutarch Life of Antony, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Rawson, E. (1991a) ‘Caesar's Heritage: Hellenistic Kings and their Roman Equals’, Roman Culture and Society, Oxford, 169–88 = JRS 65 (1975) 148–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawson, E. (1991b) ‘Sallust on the Eighties’, Roman Culture and Society, Oxford, 546–69 = CQ N. S. 37.1 (1987) 163–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romano, D. (1987) ‘Vario Rufo e le Proscrizioni del 43, Un' Interpretazione del fr. 4 Büchner del De Morte’, Seia 4: 9–21.Google Scholar
Ross, D. Jr., (1977) Review of Lefèvre, CW 71: 205–6.Google Scholar
Rostagni, A. (1959) ‘Il De Morte di L. Vario Rufo’, RFIC N. S. 37: 380–94.Google Scholar
Scott, K. (1931) ‘The Political Propaganda of 44–30 B.C.’, MAAR 11: 7–49.Google Scholar
Stroh, W. (1982) ‘Die Nachahmung des Demosthenes in Ciceros Philippiken’, Éloquence et Rhétorique chez Cicéron, Entretiens de la Fondation Hardt 28: 1–31.Google Scholar
Tarrant, R. (1979) Review of Lefèvre, CR N.S. 29: 149–50.Google Scholar
Unger, R. (1870) Varii De Morte Eclogae Reliquiae.Google Scholar
Wimmel, W. (1981) Der Tragische Dichter L. Varius Rufus; Zur Frage Seines Augusteertums, Wiesbaden.Google Scholar
Wimmel, W. (1983) ‘Der Augusteer Lucius Varius Rufus’, ANRW 2.30.3: 1562–1621.Google Scholar