Nec sidera pacem semper habent Gigantomachy as modus interpretandi of Reality in Claudian’s Poetry

Abstract

The article is devoted to the presentation of topos of gigantomachy in the light of political allusions that can be found in Claudian’s Panegyrics. In parts: III Cons. Hon. 158—162, IV Cons. Hon. 527—538 and VI Cons. Hon. 184—192 the rhetor used the motif of fights of gods with the Giants in the context of praising Stilicho’s leadership skills (III Cons. Hon.), Honorius’s shooting abilities (IV Cons. Hon.), and also as a form of Alaric’s criticism (VI Cons. Hon.). The common ground of all statements in which the author used the concept of unification of the myth and history is the presentation of contrast between the barbarian wildness and political ideology of the empire