Von Kuhlberg, Amélie Marie Sophie Elisabeth;
(2025)
Death and Rebirth: Dionysian and Related Mystery Cults in Augustan Poetry.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
This thesis is an examination of Dionysian death and rebirth in Augustan poetry. It argues that the poets Virgil, Horace, Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid make reference to Orphic-Bacchic, Eleusinian, and Isiac mystery cults and in the process reflect on Dionysus as a god bringing both destruction and fertility. After setting out my argument for each author according to the cult (or cults) that I believe they are referencing, I address the implication that such allusions can inform our understanding of the authors’ reflections on civil war and the transition from Republic to Empire. Other scholars have written on the topic of mystery cults in Augustan poetry, such as Bremmer, Hardie, Johnston, Luck, Mac Góráin and Nelis, Mackenzie, Morgan, and Whittaker. This contribution builds on their work by including a discussion of all Dionysian and related mystery cults in all the major Augustan poets (some connections have previously been observed, others not) to compare perspectives effectively. This thesis also provides in-depth analyses of the Greek cults and their sometimes complex relationship with Rome, before looking at the allusions in poetry. In the process, I map out parts of a Dionysian thought world relating to creative destruction, which authors and readers alike could plausibly have had access to. To do so, the thesis contains chapters on the Orphic-Bacchic, Eleusinian, and Isiac mysteries, each with sub-sections on their myths, rituals, status in Rome, and allusions in Augustan poetry. I conclude by comparing how each poet’s perspectives on Rome’s transition to Empire is portrayed by allusion to the mysteries. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to create a synthesis of thoughts on a notoriously debated subject with original contributions to the study of Augustan poetry.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Death and Rebirth: Dionysian and Related Mystery Cults in Augustan Poetry |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2025. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Greek and Latin |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10209604 |
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