Religion and Rhetoric at the Courts of the Theodosians, c. 379-404 A.D.
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis examines the process of Christianisation at the courts of the Theodosian emperors in a twenty-five year period at the end of the fourth century and the start of the fifth. It does so through the orations of two pagan orators who carved out successful careers for themselves during this period: in the Greek East, at the court of Theodosius I in Constantinople, the Aristotelian philosopher and rhetor, Themistius; in the Latin West, the poet Claudian, who delivered a number of orations in the form of epic poems at the court of Honorius, and the boy-emperor’s de facto regent Stilicho. The central argument of the thesis is that the religious significance of the ‘classicising’ material in both Themistius’ and Claudian’s rhetoric have been underrated in recent scholarship. Both orators refer extensively to pagan gods, pagan mythology, pagan philosophers, and the literature of the pagan past. Most scholars however have preferred to play down, or even deny, that this has anything to do with pagan religious identity, observing that these orators delivered their speeches to largely Christian audiences, which had come to regard such material as aesthetic and antiquarian. I argue that Themistius and Claudian were able to use these references ambiguously and ambivalently; that is, in such a way that they could be regarded as irrelevant to religion by Christian members of the audience, while inviting the ‘activation’ of religious identity by pagan members. In doing so, Themistius and Claudian were able both to fulfil the epideictic purpose of their orations to unite the audience in praise of the emperor, and to represent pagan identity in the political sphere. I also make the case that the Theodosian period has been overemphasised in the scholarship as a watershed in the process of Christianisation. While many have seen in these decades a turn towards a more aggressive and intolerant ‘imperial’ Christianity, I argue that pagan religious identity still had a significant …
abstract: This thesis examines the process of Christianisation at the courts of the Theodosian emperors in a twenty-five year period at the end of the fourth century and the start of the fifth. It does so through the orations of two pagan orators who carved out successful careers for themselves during this period: in the Greek East, at the court of Theodosius I in Constantinople, the Aristotelian philosopher and rhetor, Themistius; in the Latin West, the poet Claudian, who delivered a number of orations in the form of epic poems at the court of Honorius, and the boy-emperor’s de facto regent Stilicho. The central argument of the thesis is that the religious significance of the ‘classicising’ material in both Themistius’ and Claudian’s rhetoric have been underrated in recent scholarship. Both orators refer extensively to pagan gods, pagan mythology, pagan philosophers, and the literature of the pagan past. Most scholars however have preferred to play down, or even deny, that this has anything to do with pagan religious identity, observing that these orators delivered their speeches to largely Christian audiences, which had come to regard such material as aesthetic and antiquarian. I argue that Themistius and Claudian were able to use these references ambiguously and ambivalently; that is, in such a way that they could be regarded as irrelevant to religion by Christian members of the audience, while inviting the ‘activation’ of religious identity by pagan members. In doing so, Themistius and Claudian were able both to fulfil the epideictic purpose of their orations to unite the audience in praise of the emperor, and to represent pagan identity in the political sphere. I also make the case that the Theodosian period has been overemphasised in the scholarship as a watershed in the process of Christianisation. While many have seen in these decades a turn towards a more aggressive and intolerant ‘imperial’ Christianity, I argue that pagan religious identity still had a significant …
author: Kybett, Benjamin
language: eng
keywords: Late Antiquity, Religion, Rhetoric, Ancient History, Themistius, Claudian, Roman Empire
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2021-08-18
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:14Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.81577