DOI: 10.7256/2454-0749.2018.3.27418

Abstract: The subject of this research is the means of working with Homeric texts that were used by the impress Eudocia in her poem 'Martyrdom of Saint Cyprian' (V century). According to the author, these means provide an insight into the principles of creative writing of not only Eudocia but all poets of the late Ancient period. Generally, Eudocia demonstrated a very good knowledge of Homeric texts and wide erudition. In terms of morphology, the poetess followed the rules of the Homeric dialect but at the same time understood the high variability of the epic langauge and sometimes broke the rules without breaking the Homeric tradition in general. Eudocia's method of versification sometimes neared the cento method that she also often sued. Using the TLG corpus search system, the author discovered over 150 examples of direct textual concurrences (in this research Alexandrova gives only some examples). The results of the research demonstrate that in Eudocia's text epic formulas could be either used in the same metric position as in the referred Homeric text, or transferred into others. In the Homeric formula, one word could be changed to another that sounded alike but had a better meaning. Thus, Homeric vocabulary can be reviewed taking into account new Christian realities. Archaization tendencies could be observed both in metrics, borrowings of Homeric syncopated forms and frequently used elisions (including those in content words). The scientific novelty of the research is caused by the fact that this is the first research devoted to Homeric borrowings used by Eudocia in her creative writing. 

DOI: 10.7256/2454-0749.2018.2.26201

Abstract:  The subject of the research is the concept of grammatical norm in the poem Martyrdom of saint Cyprian written by the empress Eudocia (the 5h century AD). In her article Alexandrova analyzes examples of deviations from the morphological norm. Earlier researches (by A. Cameron, etc.) on Eudocia only express reproaches of Eudocia being too free with the poetic language rules and Homeric dialect. The purpose of this research was to find out whether those approaches actually corresponded to the facts. In her research Alexandrova uses the corpus search system TLG, analyzes examples that were independently discovered by the author, and applies the method of integral analysis. The author of the article finds out examples of similar deviations of earlier poets (Euripides, Apollonius of Rhodes, Gregory of Nazianzus) Eudocia was most likely to have read. In each particular case the author of the article proves that reproaches of Eudocia had nt grounds. She knew the classical tradition very well but was inclined toawrds a freerer norm of Christian poetry offered by Gregory of Nazianzus. Deviations in Eudocia's poem were mostly caused by the need to maintain the metric order. However, she did not follow classical rules of prosody, either. As a result, the author concludes that earlier evaluations of Eudocia's creative writing were hyper critical. Generally, Eudocia's poem is an example of a middle-level poetry and received positive approve of many Byzantine authors such as Photios I of Constantinople.