Vaginov and antiquity: Hellene Philostratus in the formation of a new socialist life

Vaginov and antiquity is the subject that is insufficiently illustrated in the literary thought. It is necessary to investigate the images of Philostratus in the work of the writer as some aspects of this topic have not been carefully studied by researchers. Vaginov knew and loved antiquity. Judging by the titles of books that sometimes appear on the pages of his novels, one can say that when Vaginov was only beginning to write, his reading was rather extensive. Of particular influence were the works of Ovid, Charles Baudelaire, Edgar Allan Poe, Edward Gibbon. «The History of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire» excited the mind of a young writer, and thanks to this historical work, the boy got involved in collecting antiquities and coins. The image of Philostratus appears in the works of Vaginov in the early 1920s, partly due to the «Roman» influence of the writings of Gibbon, but mostly because a special impulse of the creative imagination of the writer was caused by the book «Imaginary portraits» by Walter Pater. Literary scholars, particularly D. M. Segal, noted the connection of Philostratus with the figures of the second sophistry (Apuleius, Lucian, Claudius Elian, etc.), however, in our view, this convergence is not entirely correct. Roman writers and rhetoricians of the second sophistry could have suggested the name and the draping of the character, but the content and the appearance of Philostratus were borrowed from the writings of Walter Pater and subsequently transformed. «Imaginary portraits» are often considered by researchers as an indirect source of imagery of the writer, whereas this book is the key not only to the poetics of Vaginov but also to his aesthetic and philosophical views on the world and nature. This paper discusses the mechanism of borrowing and specifies the key points in the similarity of the character of Vaginov with the character of Pater. The author traces the correlation of Philostratus with the eternal topoi, such as Dionysus and Apollo, describes his role in the lives of other characters during the formation of the new Soviet - power. In addition, particular attention is paid to toponyms of St. Petersburg, having influenced the writer’s love for the antique, particularly Roman, heritage. Among these places, for example, are the Summer garden and the Hermitage. Vaginov sensitively followed the changes of the beloved city, before his eyes «Manchester on the Neva» was born. Significant transformation of the city by the efforts of S. M. Kirov changed the psychology of its population. The old way of life became particularly valuable for the indigenous citizens of St. Petersburg: it was as a snapshot of a bygone era. Vaginov felt the museality of all the events and during the formation of a new life, being influenced by the works and personal acquaintance with N. Antsiferov, acted as a collector of «the fragments of the former life», as a writer and ethnographer.

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