Panegyricus de Sexto Consulatu Honorii Augusti

Claudian is often called the last Latin poet of the classical tradition. This is the first ever English edition of his last extant work, complete with an introduction, newly edited text, facing English translation, and richly detailed commentary. The De Sexto Consulatu Honorii shows Claudian at the height of his considerable powers. A superb example of the literature of Late Antiquity, it records in exquisite and glittering verse the splendour of the Western Imperial Court, and is also a unique historical witness to the events and attitudes of the last years of the Roman Empire. The poem celebrates the defeat of Alaric the Visigoth's first invasion of Italy in AD 402 and ironically, predicts that he will never trouble the Romans again. Only a few years later, in AD 410, Alaric took Rome itself - the first capture of the city by a foreign army in eight centuries - thus shaking to the foundations the ancient world's perceptions of Rome's imperial destiny. This book provides a detailed analysis not only of the historical background but above all of Claudian's language, style, imagery, and impressive use of a wide range of Greek and Latin sources.