Conference on "Ennius, Poetry and History"

Friday, November 11, 2016 - 12:00pm to Saturday, November 12, 2016 - 6:00pm

Kislak Center, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, 6th floor, 3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Recent years have seen a wealth of new scholarship, much of it explicitly revisionist, on Quintus Ennius, and in particular on his masterpiece, the historical epic poem Annales. At the same time, a fruitful dialogue has emerged among students of Greek and Roman poetry and historiography, in which critical approaches and techniques have begun to flow freely between the two fields. This conference brings together specialists in both fields to assess the current situation all the relevant fields and to explore the most fruitful avenues for further research.

All are welcome to attend the conference. A detailed program appears below. For further information, please contact the organizers, Joseph Farrell (jfarrell@sas.upenn.edu) and Cynthia Damon (cdamon@sas.upenn.edu)

Program (download: Ennius schedule.pdf)

Friday, Nov. 11 

First session, 1:00–3:15

  • Joseph Farrell and Cynthia Damon (Penn), Welcome and introduction, 1:00–1:15
  • Sander Goldberg (UCLA), “Ennius and the Fata librorum” 1:15–1:45
  • Virginia Fabrizi (Munich), "Philosophy, History, and Ennius' Annales" 1:45–2:15
  • Damien Nelis (Geneva), “Ennius, Callimachus and Hellenistic Epic” 2:15–2:45
  • Discussion 2:45–3:15

Break, 3:15–3:45

Second session, 3:45–5:45

  • Thomas Biggs (Georgia), “Generic Innovation and the Mediation of History in Naevius’ Bellum Punicum and Ennius’ Annales” 3:45–4:15
  • Ayelet Haimson-Lushkov (Texas), “Tria Corda: Ennius and the Place of Epic in Roman Historiography” 4:15-4:45
  • Jackie Elliott (Boulder), “Ennius and the Early Historians of Rome” 4:45–5:15
  • Discussion 5:15–5:45

Saturday, Nov. 12

First session, 10:30–12:30

  • Brian Breed (Amherst), ​"Ennius and Lucilius" 10:30–11:00
  • Jason Nethercut (USF Tampa), “How ‘Ennian’ Was Latin Epic Between Accius and Lucretius?” 11:00–11:30
  • Patrick Glauthier (Penn), "Ennius and the Birth of the Roman Monster" 11:30-12:00
  • Discussion 12:00-12:30

Lunch break, 12:30–1:30

Second session, 1:30–3:00

  • Lydia Spielberg (Nijmegen), "Illa quae versibus persecutus est Ennius: the Annales as source and model for historical speech​" 1:30–2:00
  • A. J. Woodman (Virginia), “Ennius’ Annales and Tacitus’ Annals” 2:00–2:30
  • Discussion 2:30–3:00

Break, 3:00–3:15

Third session, 3:15–4:45

  • Jessica Clark (FSU),“The Annales as Historical Evidence in Ancient and Modern Commentaries” 3:15–3:45
  • Christina Kraus (Yale), “Commenting on the Annales: Steuart, Skutsch, and Ennius” 3:45–4:15
  • Discussion 4:15–4:45

Break, 4:45-5:00

Wrap-up 5:00-6:30

  • First reflections 5:00-5:15
  • Roundtable discussion 5:15-6:15
  • Concluding remarks 6:15–6:30