Catullan Labyrinths in Vergilian Ekphraseis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63872/TNZS6637Keywords:
Catullus, Vergil, ekphrasis, intertextuality, poetic identityAbstract
This article examines the Catullan background of Vergil’s ekphraseis, focusing on the mythological and poetic “labyrinth” structures. Through detailed analysis, it demonstrates how the imagery and narrative strategies of Catullus 64, especially its ekphrastic passages, are reworked within the descriptive episodes of the Aeneid. The study argues that the Catullan model serves not only as an object of imitation but also as a productive intertextual resource that reshapes the generic and rhetorical functions of ekphrasis in Vergilian poetry. Attention is given to the transformation of spatial and visual motifs, the use of narrative interruptions and insertions, and the self-reflexive dimension of description. The article shows that the Catullan “labyrinth” becomes, in Vergil’s epic, a space for poetic identity and generic innovation.
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