Lux and luminaria in the Biblical Paraphrases from Proba to Avitus

This article offers a contrasting review and a cross-analysis of the descriptions of the creation of lux and the luminaria in the principal Latin metrical paraphrases of the fourth and fifth centuries AD—namely those by Proba, Ps.-Cyprianus Gallus, Ps.-Hilarius, Marius Victor, Avitus, and Dracontius. Particular attention is devoted to tracing the modalities through which earlier authors exerted influence upon their successors, as well as to assessing the degree of innovation—most notably in the later poets of the corpus. Furthermore, the study investigates the intricate network of intertextual relationships both with Christian poets (such as Prudentius and Sedulius) and with non-Christian authors (including Lucretius, Virgil, and Manilius).