“The Body Book” for Christian Epic Poetry: How Milton and Pope Christianized Greco-Roman Conceptions of Embodied Divinity in Paradise Lost and The Iliad Öffentlichkeit

Abstract

John Milton and Alexander Pope penned and translated literature that used elements of embodied divinities from Homeric epic poetry and Greco-Roman mythology. In their respective works, Paradise Lost and Homer’s Iliad, they rehabilitated pagan embodied divinities for Christian literature, and their impact becomes clear in John Flaxman’s illustrations of The Iliad.

Table of Contents

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………… Page 8

Satan as Zeus and Achilles in Milton’s Paradise Lost ……………………………... Page 20

The History of the Poem and the Greco-Roman Mythological Precedent

of Paradise Lost ……………………………………………………………………… Page 20

The Bodies of the Angels …………………………………………………….. Page 29

The Perversion of Sexuality: Satan as Zeus ………………………………….. Page 42

Demigods: Satan as Achilles …………………………………………………. Page 52

Pope’s Iliad and the New Testament: Achilles as a Christ-like Figure …………... Page 58

The History of Pope’s Translation, Flaxman’s Illustrations, and Pope’s “Introduction”

to The Iliad ……..………………………………………. Page 58      

Pope’s Pattern of Modifying Language in The Iliad ……………………………… Page 65

Achilles’ Mythological Background and Embodied Divinity ………………… Page 73

Achilles like Christ: Divine Rage and Redemption …………………………… Page 76

Achilles like Christ: The Obscuration of Achilles’ Homosexual Relationship… Page 83

Flaxman’s Illustrations ………………………………………………………… Page 93

            Figure 1 ………………………………………………………………… Page 100

            Figure 2 ………………………………………………………………… Page 101

            Figure 3…………………………………………………………………. Page 102

            Figure 4…………………………………………………………………..Page 103

Milton and Pope’s Impact ……………………………………………………………. Page 104

Works Cited …………………………………………………………………………… Page 106

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Classics
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Classical Studies Literature, English
Stichwort	Paradise Lost The Iliad Embodied divinity
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Dr. James Morey, Emory University
Committee Members	Dr. Judith Evans-Grubbs, Emory University Dr. Katrina Dickson, Emory University

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