Die Klage über die zerstörte Stadt Nikomedeia bei Libanios im Spiegel der Mimesis

What is it about?

In this study I focus on the Monody on Nicomedia by Libanius (or. 61, ed. Foerster) and its relationship with the literary tradition of its genre, specifically its relationship with the Monody on Smyrna by Aelius Aristeides (or. 18, ed. Keil) and the work On Monody by Menander Rhetor (ΙΙ. 434, 10-437, 4, ed. Russell/Wilson). The methodology used to assist in investigating this subject is the theory of intertextuality. After a brief review of the various positions (Mesk, Schouler), I attempt to answer the questions of if and how these specific sub-texts operate in the hyper-text (Monody on Nicomedia). To do so, I examine the intertextual relations and differences between these works on the basis of three axes: textual structure, motifs, and language. As can be seen from a comparative analysis of the works, Libanius consciously used the literary prototypes of the genre, but he did not limit himself to them. The structure of his work is more complex, the typical motifs expanded and richer, the language bears an Atticising stamp without losing its poetic/lamenting dimension. The rhetor admires his models (primarily Aelius Aristides), although this does not lead him to a faithful imitation but instead to an intertextual dialogue, in a work which competes with and surpasses its prototype.

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