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12/02 Eric Orlin (University of Puget Sound): "The Carmen Saeculare: Prayer and Performance"

Thursday, December 2, 2021 - 4:45pm to 6:15pm

Colloquium, Department of Classical Studies

402 Cohen Hall and also on Zoom, new registration link below for the remainder of the semester, November 11-December 9.

In this paper, I will consider Horace’s Carmen Saeculare as a prayer and a performance, and not merely as a song or a poem or as a part of the Augustan literary tradition as it has often been treated. All prayers are in some form speech-acts, performing a communication with the divinity as its primary audience, but Horace’s hymn was explicitly designed to be performed in front of a human audience. Considering the text from this perspective and comparing it to prayers in other traditions, such as Ezra, both allows us a better understanding of Roman prayer and clarifies several unusual features of Horace’s work.

 

If you would like to attend this talk over Zoom, registration is required. Please register below for the Zoom link for the November 11-December 9 colloquia. 

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