Per Grandia Tempora: Time and Temporal References in the Poem of the Heptateuchos

This paper provides the first overall investigation of the representation and meaning of time in the poem of the Heptateuchos, an anonymous paraphrase of the first books of the Old Testament probably composed at the beginning of the 5th century AD and conventionally attributed to Cyprian the Gaul. By making a minute comparison between the poem and its biblical source, the paper sheds light on the role of temporal connectors and transition formulae, the functions covered by temporal periphrases and age references, and finally the poet’s attitude towards the Zeitstoff, both in the episodes where time is the protagonist of the narrative and in the sections concerning the Jewish calendar. The analysis demonstrates that the conception of temporality underlying the Heptateuchos is still embedded in the Latin epic tradition.