Poetic genetics : family, sexual reproduction, and community in Lucretius' De rerum natura

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dc.contributor.advisorDean-Jones, Lesley
dc.contributor.committeeMemberGordon, Pamela
dc.contributor.committeeMemberGalinsky, G. Karl
dc.contributor.committeeMemberLushkov, Ayelet H.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberWhite, Stephen A.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberHankinson, Robert J.
dc.creatorTakakjy, Laura Chason
dc.creator.orcid0000-0002-2055-6466
dc.date.accessioned2018-12-03T18:04:16Z
dc.date.available2018-12-03T18:04:16Z
dc.date.created2018-08
dc.date.issued2018-08-17
dc.date.submittedAugust 2018
dc.date.updated2018-12-03T18:04:16Z
dc.description.abstractMy dissertation examines family, sexual reproduction, and community in Lucretius’ poem De Rerum Natura and reconsiders the importance of these topics in Lucretius’ formulation of Epicureanism for a Roman audience. I argue that Lucretius modifies Epicurus’ teachings about family and sex to render Epicureanism more palatable to a Roman audience. I explore the cultural resonance of the social metaphors Lucretius uses to explain atomic movement, particularly in Books 1-3, and I argue that Lucretius presents the atomic world as built on cooperative relationships. In light of my findings regarding Lucretian atomic movement, I propose a new reading of Lucretius’ views on love and sexual reproduction in Book 4. I argue that Book 4 presents love as a bivalent phenomenon and that Lucretius finds conjugal love as most natural and in line with the atomic universe. Building on my analysis of Lucretian theories of love and sexuality, I propose a new reading of Lucretius’ presentation of marriage in Book 5. I argue that family, rather than friendship, is presented in Lucretius’ anthropology as the foundational social relationship in society, and, in this respect, that Lucretius departs from Epicurus. Next, I propose that Lucretius considers religio to be the greatest harm to the family, and I offer a contextualization of Lucretian pietas in Roman culture. I conclude my project with an analysis of the “Sacrifice of Iphigenia,” which I propose portrays Agamemnon as committing a crime against nature since he interferes with the cycle of generational renewal by killing his daughter. I contend that in this episode Lucretius formulates an Epicurean virtue of pietas, which aims, above all, at maintaining the integrity of the Roman family.
dc.description.departmentClassics
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifierdoi:10.15781/T2T72821C
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2152/70602
dc.language.isoen
dc.subjectClassics
dc.subjectClassical studies
dc.subjectRome
dc.subjectRoman literature
dc.subjectRoman culture
dc.subjectAncient philosophy
dc.subjectLucretius
dc.subjectDe rerum natura
dc.subjectLatin poetry
dc.subjectRoman poetry
dc.subjectEpicureanism
dc.subjectEpic
dc.subjectAncient epic
dc.subjectRoman epic
dc.subjectPhilosophical epic
dc.subjectRoman family
dc.subjectGender
dc.subjectGender studies
dc.subject.lcshLucretius Carus, Titus--Criticism and interpretation
dc.subject.lcshLucretius Carus, Titus--De rerum natura
dc.subject.lcshFamilies--Rome--History
dc.subject.lcshRome--Social conditions--510-30 B.C.
dc.titlePoetic genetics : family, sexual reproduction, and community in Lucretius' De rerum natura
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialtext
thesis.degree.departmentClassics
thesis.degree.disciplineClassics
thesis.degree.grantorThe University of Texas at Austin
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy

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