Open AccessEutropius as an oriental
Author(s) -
Tomasz Babnis
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
classica cracoviensia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2391-6753
pISSN - 1505-8913
DOI - 10.12797/cc.23.2020.23.01
Subject(s) - roman empire , topos theory , argumentation theory , empire , invective , art , classics , poetry , ancient history , literature , history , philosophy , political science , politics , law , linguistics
Eutropius, eunuch who became the consul of the Roman Empire in 399 AD under Arcadius, is a villain of Claudius Claudian’s invective In Eutropium. Argumentation in this piece is based on many negative topoi employed in the earlier Roman poetry. In doing this, the poet makes a particular use of stereotypes connected with the East, by dint of which he can attribute these features to the Eastern Roman Empire (epitomised by Eutropius) and – at the same time – to show that the right Roman virtues are fostered in the Western Roman Empire, controlled by the poet’s patron, Stilicho.