Apocolocyntosis
TheApocolocyntosis (divi) Claudii,literallyThe Pumpkinification of(the Divine)Claudius,is a satire on the Roman emperorClaudius,which, according toCassius Dio,was written bySeneca the Younger.A partly extantMenippean satire,an anonymous work calledLudus de morte Divi Claudii( "Play on the Death of the Divine Claudius" ) in its surviving manuscripts, may or may not be identical to the text mentioned by Cassius Dio. "Apocolocyntosis" is a word play on "apotheosis",the process by which dead Roman emperors were recognized as gods.
Authorship
[edit]TheLudus de morte Divi Claudiiis one of only two examples of a Menippean satire from the classical era that have survived, the other being theSatyricon,which was probably written byPetronius.Gilbert Bagnaniis among the scholars who also attribute theLudustext to Petronius.[1]
"Apocolocyntosis" is Latinized Greek, and can also be transliterated asApokolokyntosis(Attic GreekἈποκολοκύντωσις:"Pumpkinification",lit."Gourdification" ). The titleApokolokyntosiscomes from the Roman historianCassius Dio,who wrote inGreek.Cassius Dio attributed authorship of a satirical text on the death of Claudius, calledApokolokyntosis,to Seneca the Younger.[2]Only much later was the work referred to by Cassius Dio identified (with some degree of uncertainty) with theLudustext.[3]Most scholars accept this attribution, although a minority holds that the two works are not the same, and that the surviving text is not necessarily Seneca's.[4]
Plot
[edit]The work traces the death of Claudius, his ascent to heaven, judgment by the gods, and eventual descent toHades.At each turn, the author mocks the late emperor's personal failings, most notably his arrogant cruelty and his inarticulacy.
AfterMercurypersuadesClothoto kill the emperor, Claudius walks toMount Olympus,where he convincesHerculesto let the gods hear his suit fordeificationin a session of the divinesenate.Proceedings are in Claudius's favor untilAugustusdelivers a long and sincere speech listing some of Claudius's most notorious crimes. Most of the speeches of the gods are lost due to a largelacunain the text.Mercuryescorts him to Hades. On the way, they witness the funeral procession for the emperor, in which a crew of venal characters mourns the loss of the perpetualSaturnaliaof the previous reign. In Hades Claudius is greeted by the ghosts of all the friends he has murdered. These shades carry him off to be punished, and the gods condemn him to shake dice forever in a box with no bottom (as gambling was one of Claudius's vices); every time he tries to throw the dice, they fall out, and he has to search the ground for them. SuddenlyCaligulaappears, claims that Claudius is an ex-slave of his, and hands him over to be a law clerk in the court of the underworld.
Translations
[edit]Notable English-language translations of theApocolocyntosisinclude:
- W. H. D. Rouse(1913),Apocolocyntosis, or Ludus de Morte Claudii: The Pumpkinification of Claudius(available onProject Gutenberg:Apocolocyntosisby W.H.D. Rouse, 1920 edition;available on The Stoic Therapy eLibrary:Apocolocyntosis)
- J.P. Sullivan (ed), "The Apocolocyntosis"(Penguin Books, 1986)ISBN9780140444896
- The novelClaudius the GodbyRobert Gravescontains a translation of theApocolocyntosisin the annexes
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Gilbert Bagnani.Arbiter of Elegance: A study of the Life & Works of C. Petronius(1954)
- ^"Seneca himself had composed a work that he called Gourdification,—a word made on the analogy of 'deification'" (Dio Cassius,Book 61, No. 35 - Translation by Herbert Baldwin Foster, 1905, retrieved from Project Gutenberg)
- ^See introduction ofW. H. D. Rouse's translation:"This piece is ascribed to Seneca by ancient tradition; it is impossible to prove that it is his, and impossible to prove that it is not. The matter will probably continue to be decided by every one according to his view of Seneca's character and abilities: in the matters of style and of sentiment much may be said on both sides. Dion Cassius (lx, 35) says that Seneca composed an" apokolokintosis "or Pumpkinification of Claudius after his death, the title being a parody of the usual" apotheosis "; but this title is not given in the MSS. of the Ludus de Morte Claudii, nor is there anything in the piece which suits the title very well."
- ^Clausen, W. V.; Kenney, E. J. (1983).The Cambridge History of Classical Literature.Vol. 2. p. 137.ISBN0521273722.
References
[edit]- Altman, Marion (1938). "Ruler Cult in Seneca."Classical Philology33 (1938): 198–204.
- Astbury, Raymond (1988). "The Apocolocyntosis."The Classical Reviewns 38 (1988): 44–50.
- Colish, Marcia(1976). "Seneca's Apocolocyntosis as a Possible Source for Erasmus' Julius Exclusus."Renaissance Quarterly29 (1976): 361–368.
- Relihan, Joel (1984). "On the Origin of 'Menippean Satire' as the Name of a Literary Genre."Classical Philology79 (1984): 226–9.
- Senecae Apocolocyntosis Divi Claudii (Latin Text)at The Stoic Therapy eLibrary
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