St. Augustine's commentary on Genesis, The Literal Meaning of Genesis, was groundbreaking for its innovative exegesis as much as its thoroughness. His undertaking reflected a desire within the culture of Late Antiquity to account for our origins in a manner that was radically different from what was found in the pagan philosophy and literature by which early Christians were educated. As his commentary grew in popularity through the ages it gained authority, serving as the primary means of reading Genesis for Catholics and Protestants alike. His interpretive project had as its goal the literal meaning of the author, of what actually happened, not the literal meaning of his words about what happened. Each reader was free to discover, as much as possible, the author's intent according to the contextual requirements and the demands of faith. This dissertation explores how Augustine's interpretation of Genesis gave impetus to the hexaemeral epic, establishing his commentary as the primary link between the chief poems forming the tradition and its culminating hexaemeron, Milton's Paradise Lost.;The hexaemeral epic blossomed in Late Antiquity, fell dormant in the Middle Ages when allegory was especially prevalant, and reemerged in profusion during the Renaissance. Consequently, scholars often overlook the lasting importance of the early epics that gave shape to those of the Renaissance. In fact, scholars have devoted much attention to the classical sources of Renaissance epic without commenting on the Christian sources through which the epics were often mediated. The Latin hexaemeral epics of Victor, Dracontius, and Avitus provided later Christians with models that demonstrated precisely how to apply interpretive methods to their Biblical material. Augustine, following Ambrose, presented Genesis in such a way that made it suitable for versification, and his commentary was soon established as a conventional reference in all epic hexaemera. This study argues that Augustine's literalism was the dominant interpretive mode of the epic hexaemeron, established by the earliest epic hexaemeralists and later embraced by Milton.;In each chapter, I locate Augustine's centrality to a particular hexaemeron, weighing his influence against those commentaries that either inspired or responded to it. This study concludes with one of the last and most successful epic hexaemera, Paradise Lost, in order to show that Augustinian literalism was a central feature of that literary tradition throughout its long lifespan. The distance in time between the poets shrinks with the shared reading of Augustine. Moreover, a decidedly Protestant hexaemeron like Milton's reveals the extent to which Augustine transcended denominational divides. This dissertation contributes to our understanding of the development of the Biblical epic and the patristic influences that gave shape to it.
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