The Digression on Cyprus in Claudian’s Epithalamium de nuptiis Honorii et Mariae

Abstract

In Claudian’s epithalamium for Honorius and Maria, which celebrates the marriage of the emperor to Stilocho’s daughter in 398 CE, Cupid visits Venus’ palace in Cyprus, and a significant part of the poem (lines 49-108) is dedicated to the description of the place. This ecphrasis constitutes a locus amoenus and facilitates Claudian’s intentions on multiple levels by auguring the felicitous marriage of Honorius and Maria and contributing to the laudatory tone of the poem. The allusions to a number of previous texts allow the poet to recall literary predecessors from various genres in order to accomplish his literary aims and promote his political agenda. Special emphasis is given to Vergil’s Eclogues 4, Tibullus’ elegy 1.3 and Lucan’s description of Cleopatra’s palace in the tenth book of his De Bello Civili. Claudian’s description is indicative of the way Cyprus is perceived in the Roman West during Late Antiquity, which seems, in turn, to have influenced later literature and established the image of Cyprus as a land comparable to the campi Elysii.