1,720,964 research outputs found
Traiano custode e correttore del passato: la vicesima hereditatium in Plinio, Panegirico 37-40
No full textThis article focuses on Trajan’s overhaul of the vicesima hereditatium discussed by Pliny in paneg. 37-40. In Pliny’s view, the inheritance tax breaks family ties generating a social disruption equivalent to a bellum civile. By reforming the vicesima and granting the cognationis iura to his citizens, Trajan is cast as the unifier of dismembered house-holds and as the guardian of family continuity. Furthermore, by cancelling his citizens’ past debts, Trajan corrects retroactively the unfair legislation of the past. This measure is intended by Pliny as a correction of the past itself. Since not even the gods are able to change the past, Trajan is celebrated as superior even to the gods
Le armi improprie di Sceva: Suggestioni dalla Centauromachia ovidiana in Lucano (VI 169-179)
No full textTwo distinctive elements of Scaeva's epic aristeia (Lucan. VI 169-179) are taken into consideration in this article: the use of "irregular" weapons (a pile of allied corpses and the ruins of the crumbling wall of a fort), and the attack made on two enemies, crushing one's head with a stone and setting the other's hair and beard on fire. Firstly, the assortment of weapons used by Scaeva enhances the hyperbolic nature of his actions to the point of equating them to those of an entire army. Secondly, an in-depth analysis of lines 176-179 prompts us to detect a complex intertextuality between Lucan's passage and both the Aeneid(a widely recognised model), and Ovid's Centauromachy (specifically Ov. met. XII 287-289, and Ov. met. XII 271-279). Furthermore, Ovid's model allows Lucan to ultimately make a literary allusion to Horn. Od. IX 378-394.1 argue that in Sceva's aristeia the perversion of civilized values caused by the civil war is reflected both in the kind of weapons used by Scaeva and in his actions, which differ from those of the Homeric and Virgilian hero
A dead(ly) air: Lucretius on epidemics and the perishability of air in De rerum natura VI 1090-1137
No full textThis article takes into consideration two main themes developed in Lucretius’
theorical explanation on the origins of epidemics (VI 1096-1137). Firstly, it deals with
the poet’s strategy to debunk the belief that the plague was a godsent punishment against
wicked individuals. On a literary level, Lucretius makes this antitheological argument by
referencing and subverting not only the widely recognized model of Iliad Book I, but also two Hesiodic passages (op. 96-104 and 240-243). Secondly, the paper deals with the apocalyptic
scope given to epidemics by employing some of the tropes deployed in the poem’s
previous eschatological passages. Lucretius makes an argument for the plague as evidence
of the corruptibility of the air and, thus, of the mortality of the world and its impending end.
The presence of the same argument in Theophrastus’ fr. 184 FHSG shows that Lucretius in
the analytical exposition of the origin of epidemics further engages with the philosophical
debate on the destructibility of the cosmos
[Recensione a] Giovenale, Satira 9 : introduzione, traduzione, testo e commento, [a cura di] F. Bellandi, Berlin-Boston, De Gruyter, 2021
No full textDouble Identities in Seneca’s Phaedra. Siblings, Theseus/Hippolytus and the Amazon within Phaedra’s Confession of Love
No full textIn this paper, I first conduct a close reading of Sen. Phaedr. 646-666, emphasising
the differences from the widely recognised Ovidian model. The focus is on examining
Phaedra’s rhetorical and erotic strategy, characterised by a blurring of identities, roles, and
literary memories, especially with reference to her account of the Cretan myth. I also consider
the relevance of the Virgilian similes between Dido and Diana, as well as Aeneas and
Apollo, in relation to the comparison of Phaedra’s beloved to the sibling gods. The analysis
then discusses the theme of father-son resemblance and its implications within the dynamics
of an incestuous relationship, considering the model of Dido’s affection towards Ascanius
as an erotic substitute for Aeneas. Lastly, I delve into the function and implications of
Hippolytus’ Amazonian descent in Phaedra’s declaration of love, exploring its impact on
Hippolytus’ reaction to Phaedra’s words and the subsequent development of the play
[Recensione a] Juvenal, Satires. Book 3, edited with a translation and commentary by John Godwin, Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 2022
No full text«Falsa canebat»: il modello di Cassandra nella Pizia lucanea
No full textThis article focuses on the Pythia Phemonoe as described in Lucan’s Book v (mainly Lucan. v 120-157). It will be argued that the use of the epithet Phoebas prompts us to detect a reference to the character of Cassandra. To distance himself from Virgil’s Sibylline episode (a widely recognized model), Lucan patterns the beginning of the Delphic episode after an Ovidian tale of rape. This erotic and violent dimension can be construed as evocative of Cassandra’s relationship with Apollo, whose sexual advances she resisted. Moreover, an in-depth analysis of the intertextual references to Seneca’s Agamemnon (specifically Sen. Ag. 710-725) shows how Cassandra’s inability to persuade others of her truthfulness is subverted in the Pythia’s deliberate deceitfulness. Taking into account the influence of the model of Cassandra on Phemonoe reveals that Lucan has enhanced the differences from Virgil’s Sibyl by giving the character of the Pythia an innovative tragic and mythological depth
Il paradosso dell’Egitto romano: una scena conviviale in Giovenale 15
No full textThis article focuses on the role of Egypt in Juvenal’s critique on Roman society, particularly with reference to satire 15. Whereas Juvenal’s satires frequently address the presence of Egyptians in Rome, in satire 15 the poet leaves Rome aside to recount an episode of cannibalism occurred in a far-away area of Egypt. Before starting to tell this gruesome story, Juvenal refers to Egypt as both a fearsome and a lascivious place (15, 44-46). This remark falls within a wellestablished
literary tradition about the paradoxical nature of Egypt, not only a threatening province, but also a despicable land of pleasures, as highlighted by an intertextual reference to Lucan. A close reading of the description of an Egyptian festivity (15, 38-51) illustrates Juvenal’s literary construction of Egyptian debauchery: to depict it the poet enhances stereotypically negative aspects of Roman banquets well embedded in the moralistic critique to Roman society.
By doing so, the satiric gaze turns from Egypt back to Rome, forcing the centre of the Empire to see its reflection in a remote corner of its most infamous province
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