"THE MYTHS IMITATE THE GODS THEMSELVES": ALLEGORICAL CONCEPTION AND MYTHOLOGICAL APPROPRIATIONS IN SALLUSTIUS' ON THE GODS AND THE WORLD

I intend to present the rhetorical stratagems employed in Salustius' On the Gods and the World (4th century AD) in order to investigate how he partakes in the tradition of allegorical interpretation of myths and also to illustrate the assumptions with which he works. To do so, I examine the opening chapters of his work and analyze the main points of his definition of myth, the need for a philosophical approach to myths, and the mythological typology he draws, aligning these passages to the broader scope of his whole treatise.