Exemplarity and Allusion in Macrobius' Saturnalia

This book builds a new framework for interpreting the use of classical source material in Macrobius' Saturnalia. It argues that the Saturnalia, an educational dialogue long dismissed as a nostalgic compilation looking back to the 'pagan' classical past, engages with its literary models in a sophisticated and dynamic way, and can shed light on allusive techniques in Greco-Roman literature more broadly. Throughout the Saturnalia, Macrobius responds to the aesthetic and social norms of his predecessors, a process which this volume terms ethical allusion. His ethical allusions do not have a single function but encompass a range of creative and critical interactions with Greco-Roman authors, most prominently Aulus Gellius, Cicero, Plato, and Virgil. By reflecting on the relevance of earlier ethical and aesthetic codes for his contemporary moment, Macrobius makes unique contributions to pressing social and literary questions in Late Antiquity about the changing notions of class and enslavement, luxury, gender, and the value of Virgilian poetry. Ethical allusion thus furnishes a richer and more precise picture of the Saturnalia's place within the late Latin literary landscape. It also offers a new model for understanding allusions in Greco-Roman texts, one which takes fuller account of the social, political, and aesthetic work done by ancient literary production.