Langues et lettres anciennes et modernes

La médecine vétérinaire dans le Proche-Orient antique est peu documentée par nos sources. Outre quelques textes akkadiens, quatre tablettes en langue ougaritique témoignent d’un bref traité vétérinaire en circulation à Ougarit (Ras Shamra) à la fin du deuxième millénaire av. J.-C. Les éditions critiques de Chaim Cohen et Daniel Sivan (1983 revue en 1996), puis de Denis Pardee (1985), accompagnées chacune d’une traduction et d’un commentaire, ont permis une meilleure connaissance de ces textes. Cet article entend donner au lecteur un aperçu de leur contenu et des difficultés méthodologiques soulevées par leur étude.

For the contrast between Apollo and the Erinyes in the Orestea, Aeschylus makes use of so-called "musical rhetoric", a system of rhetorical figures connected to the world of sounds, instruments and musical forms, and referring to the cultural sense of the music. According to Greek thought, the solar idea of happiness is the philosophical and theogonical reason for the existence of Music, the domaine of Apollo. On the other hand, the Erinyes, the daughters of Night, are the enemies of Apollo, and their opposition to him is expressed through their denial of Music and by the use of blasphemous language: e.g. they are associated with pean, the song in honour of Apollo. The present study analyses the expressions referring to this « musical opposition » used throughout the trilogy from a lexical and rhetorical point of view.

many authors have drawn inspiration from nature and, particularly, from the world of birds. According to ancient philosophers and poets, at the world's beginning, human beings had a special connection with these creatures of the air, which ensured their relationship with the gods. Poetry and music, the language of birds and their relationship with the Deity are the elements that the ancient Greek poet Alcman, and the French composer Olivier Messiaen have in common. Both of them found the source of his own poetry and music in the variety of these divine animals. The present study analyses, through several examples of their verses and their works, the points in common in their poetry. In addition, new propositions of interpretation for some fragments of Alcman are suggested.

In the Alcaeus fragment 359 Voigt, the philological problems are linked not only with an unclear textual tradition, but also with the interesting and unexpected association between the lepa, j (a type of shellfish) and the tortoise (ce, luj): this ambiguous linkage is created by the poet to arouse an emphatic effect in his audience. The historical and philological elements provided by Athenaeus in his quotation of the poem lead most scholars to accept the textual conclusions of Wilamowitz (ce, luj instead of lepa, j). Nevertheless, the exegetical reading proposed by the German philologist (i.e. a riddle) can be put in doubt and replaced by a new interpretation based on the analysis of the context in which the poem is cited (a gastronomic passage of the Deipnosophists) and on that of the original performance (the banquet of Alcaeus and his e` tairei, a). In light of this analysis, the little more than two Alcaic verses can be interpreted as a metaphorical apostrophe. In fact, Alcaeus seems to address the shellfish lepa, j and nickname it ce, luj, arousing a highly ironic effect among the sumpo, tai. This figure of speech is based on the capacity of both the lepa, j and ce, luj to be used to make sounds, even though the differences between these two elements of the symposium make the association paradoxal. A series of several fish-plates provided at the end of the article draws attention to the presence of shellfish-which seems to be less evident than the presence of the ce, luj – at the ancient Greek symposia.

This paper originates from a more general reflection on the way in which the archaic Greeks perceived, elaborated and imagined the sounds in their everyday life and during performance. Approaching the material from an oralistic perspective, I will show the complexity of studying the figurative language adopted by the ancient Greek poets and its connection to their sonic world. I will demonstrate how this approach to the ancient texts not only reveals several important features of the ancient song-culture, but also contributes to the exegesis of the texts themselves. Moreover, as I will demonstrate, a deep attention to the sonorous imagery and to the figures of speech depicting the ancient soundscape can help to comprehend more deeply several poetological and anthropological aspects of Greek literature. After a theoretical and methodological presentation of the oral culture and the concept of phantasia, which will take into consideration both Aristotelian reflection and modern scholarship, I will give a practical example of my philological approach, analyzing fr. 26 PMGF of Alcman. By shedding light on the sounds evoked implicitly at the figurative level, we will be able to enrich the comprehension of this very famous fragment.

Gli autori antichi, fissando nel testo il ricordo – e talvolta la descrizione simultanea – dell’esperienza estetico-religiosa, si mostrano affascinati dalla presenza dell’incenso che, contestualmente all’esecuzione di canti e preghiere, si eleva fondendosi con il complesso insieme di suoni, raggiungendo così il cielo e gli dei. Di fatti, nel mondo antico, improntato su una religiosità pressoché priva di astrattismo, l’evento sacro rappresenta un momento plurisensoriale ed emozionale di grande suggestione, fondamentale per il rapporto concreto da stabilire con il divino. Particolare importanza assume, in tale contesto, la compresenza di incenso e di suoni. Questi, diffondendosi insieme nello spazio liturgico, permettono alla comunità di sentire, vedere e udire la realizzazione materiale del dialogo fra l’uomo e gli dei. Con il presente intervento si intende studiare la percezione di questi due elementi indispensabili del contesto rituale, gettando luce sui rapporti che li legano alla cerimonia antica e alla comunità. Per tale fine, si proporrà un’analisi ragionata di diversi passi letterari, dal periodo greco arcaico al tardo-antico.
Dopo una breve riflessione introduttiva, si porrà l’accento sulla presenza di suoni e incenso nello spazio sacrale, che essi letteralmente occupano riempiendo (cf. Soph. OT, 4-5). Nella parte centrale sarà analizzata una serie di passi, dai quali emerge un’importante caratteristica dinamica, propria dei suoni e dell’incenso: il moto ascensionale, attraverso il quale l’uomo e gli dei possono entrare in contatto diretto durante l’atto rituale. Si vedrà come, fin dalle prime attestazioni dell’incenso nella letteratura greca (Sapph. fr. 44 V., 30), suoni sacrali e incenso sono pensati e descritti in un unico turbinio ascensionale che eleva al cielo le intenzioni e le speranze umane, conferendo a queste ultime la concretezza di una manifestazione plurisensoriale. A questa unione sul piano dell’immaginario corrisponde una interessante osmosi linguistica, della quale l’esempio più interessante è Ov. Met. XV, 733-4, in cui il valore enfatico dell’espressione “tura…sonant et odorant aëra fumis” risulta rilevante, e che richiede una breve riflessione di tipo esegetico. Su quest’ultima si concluderà l’intervento.

In seguito alla diffusione e allo sviluppo dell’alfabeto, l’oggetto-testo e la sua esecuzione orale entrano di diritto nell’immaginario comune della Grecia arcaica e tardo-arcaica. In tale contesto, fra VI e V secolo a.C. la familiarità con la “pubblicazione” ad alta voce può conferire al testo, oltre al ruolo di latore del messaggio, quello di soggetto stesso dell’espressione sonora. Parallelamente alla fioritura di accostamenti metaforici fra memoria umana e i supporti scrittori più comuni (Nieddu), è dunque possibile individuare esempi di umanizzazione dell’oggetto-testo. Già dal V sec., infatti, la mentalità orale attribuisce alle lettere, al testo e al supporto scrittorio una vitalità del tutto autonoma: in questi casi, la personificazione non ha semplicemente il valore di modulo retorico; essa rappresenta un indice di oralità (Zumthor), e tradisce l’intimo rapporto instaurato con un oggetto e una pratica ormai familiari.
L’intervento mira a identificare e studiare casi di personificazione di lettere e di supporti scrittori attraverso l’analisi di passi letterari generati in contesti in cui la mentalità orale e quella scritta convivono, in modi differenti e a diversi livelli dell’esperienza quotidiana. Tale studio richiamerà, fra gli altri, casi di personificazione solo accennata, come l’umanizzazione della scrittura attraverso l’attribuzione di un epiteto (cf. A. Prom. 460-1; Philem. fr. 10, 6 K.-A.), casi più espliciti di azione verbale esercitata da uno scritto (Antiph. ap. Ath. X, 450e-451b), e casi in cui la personificazione consiste nella messa in scena di vere e proprie lettere che cantano e danzano (Call. ap. Ath. VII, 276a e X, 453c).

In this article, the author investigates the richness of a synaesthetical association recurrent in the Pindar’s First Olympian Ode: the brightness of ΚΛΕΟΣ. Despite the numerous studies on the light and on synaesthesia in ancient literature, it is surprising how little attention has been paid to this Pindaric figure of speech, which is not only relevant from a literary point of view, but also useful in reconstructing the performative circumstances of the victory ode and the precise referents of Pindar’s imagery. Moreover, the insistence with which the poet proposes this inter-sensal metaphor to his audience makes it a central notion. After a theoretical and methodological introduction, the author shows the strong connections between the lexical field of ΚΛΕΟΣ and the realm of sounds. In fact, we have to assume that the transition of “fame” from its original meaning “report, rumour” is not complete at the time of Pindar, and that, moreover, he consciously stresses the etymological meaning of ΚΛΕΟΣ through the insistent association with the idea of light. This linguistic explanation is the key-point thanks to which it is possible to fully appreciate the synaesthetical value of the association light-ΚΛΕΟΣ. The analysis of two passages (Ol. I, vv. 23-25 and 93-95), in which this figure of speech is evident, is followed by a third one (Ol. I, vv. 103-105). Thanks to the inquiry into the central notion of the brightness of ΚΛΕΟΣ, the author is able to propose a deep and detailed interpretation of the metaphor of v. 105, whose intelligibility mostly depends on the sense to give to the term ΠΤΥΧΗ. This word would refer to a metaphorical shield of songs – bright and sonorous - forged by the poet for Hieron. A set of important testimonies, among whom literary references to the Homeric Shield of Achilles and to the Seven against Thebes by Aeschylus, are evoked to corroborate this interpretation.

Cette conférence vise à éclairer les relations entre la poésie de Pindare, son horizon sonore - aussi performatif qu’environnemental -, et le champ lexical de l’art visuel. On montrera que la métaphore sonoro-architecturale, dans le corpus du Lyricorum princeps, n’est pas simplement l’un des nombreux motifs conventionnels hérités du patrimoine de la poésie grecque archaïque. En effet, à travers la contextualisation historique et l’étude philologique des passages choisis, tirés pour la plupart des quatre livres des épinicies, on essaiera de suivre la logique de Pindare dans ses complexes évolutions métaphoriques, et d’en mieux comprendre les implications littéraires et culturelles sous-jacentes. En outre, afin de traiter d’une manière originale le sujet de la métaphore au croisement entre le son et l’art visuel, on ne se limitera pas à évoquer le thème littéraire synthetisé par l’expression horatienne ut pictura poesis, mais on aura surtout recours aux scholies à Pindare, aux sources historiographiques et biographiques qui le concernent, aux textes de ses contemporains, et aux rares pièces archéologiques qui le représentent. Cette réflexion apportera ainsi une compréhension plus approfondie du texte pindarique, dans une perspective non seulement poétologique, mais encore pragmatique et historique.

In seguito allo sviluppo e alla diffusione dell’alfabeto, l’oggetto-testo e la sua esecuzione orale entrano di diritto nell’immaginario comune della Grecia tardo-arcaica e classica. A partire dal V secolo a.C., infatti, la consuetudine di “pubblicare” ad alta voce la parola scritta porta ad attribuire a quest’ultima, oltre al ruolo di latore del messaggio che le è proprio, anche quello – più immaginario – di soggetto dell’espressione sonora. Parallelamente alla fioritura di accostamenti metaforici fra memoria umana e supporto scrittorio, è dunque possibile individuare esempi di umanizzazione dell’oggetto-testo: i poeti, immersi in una mentalità orale, attribuiscono alle lettere, al testo e al supporto scrittorio una vitalità del tutto autonoma. In casi come questi, la personificazione non ha semplicemente il valore di modulo retorico; essa rappresenta un indice di oralità, tradendo l’intimo rapporto instaurato con un oggetto e una pratica divenuti familiari e quotidiani. L’articolo, che si annuncia come studio preliminare, utile per un futuro lavoro di analisi e di riflessione più ampia sull’argomento, mira a identificare casi notevoli di personificazione di lettere e di supporti scrittori nella letteratura greca di V e IV sec. a.C., periodo in cui la mentalità orale e quella scritta convivono, in modi differenti e a diversi livelli dell’esperienza quotidiana. Si richiameranno, fra gli altri, casi di personificazione solo accennata, come l’umanizzazione della scrittura attraverso l’attribuzione di un epiteto (cf. [Aesch.] PV, vv. 460-461; Philem. fr. 10, vv. 5-6 K.-A.), casi più espliciti di azione verbale esercitata da uno scritto, in chiave metaforica e in seno ad un γρῖφος (Antiph. ap. Ath. X, 450e-451b), e casi in cui la personificazione, pienamente compiuta, consiste nella messa in scena di vere e proprie lettere che cantano e danzano (Call. ap. Ath. X, 453d-e = Call. Test. 7 K.-A. et al.).


Keywords: Personificazione, Lettere, Oralità, Scrittura, Pitica I di Pindaro, Prometeo incatenato, Euripide, Callia di Atene, Antifane, γράμμα, δέλτος, ἐπιστολή, γρῖφος

Le présent volume s’insère dans le panorama d’études sur le monde sonore de l’Antiquité en mettant en avant un point moins développé ailleurs : l’univers des sons (musicaux et non) qui enrichissent le niveau figuratif des textes antiques. En effet, l’étude de la rhétorique sonore et musicale permet non seulement de mieux comprendre les textes des auteurs antiques, mais encore d’explorer leur horizon sonore, la sensibilité esthétique et auditive de leurs civilisations.

Historically, philosophy conceived the activity of thinking through a series of visual metaphors. This paper aims at uncovering an alternative image for the very act that defines philosophy, that of sound, and will try to bring to light metaphors for this alternative conception that one can find in the writings of Aristotle and Augustine. Some reasons why hearing occupies a minor position in the self-representation of philosophy will be put forward, always on the basis of what the two authors considered say or signal.

Although the etymology of mystērion is not entirely clear, scholars have traditionally thought it to be derived from the Greek muō, meaning "to close" or "to shut." The word may thus refer to shutting not only the eyes (during the initiation ritual), but also the mouth, since initiates were not allowed to reveal what happened in the ritual. Nevertheless, the mysteries were probably not as esoteric as scholars have thought (see R. Turcan and W. Burkert). While scholars have, in the past, treated a variety of cults as mysteries, nowadays they operate with a stricter definition of the term. "Mysteries" designate, first, ancient Greek mysteries (the Eleusinian, the Dionysian and the Orphic-Bacchic Mysteries) and, secondly, new mystery cults worshipping divinities that Greeks and Romans adopted gradually from other cultures (Cybele, Isis and Mithra). Mysteries supplemented civil religion rather than competed with it: they had the same goal of creating an individual relationship to deities through votive offerings. Any individual could easily observe the rites of the state religion, be an initiate in one or more mysteries (whatever her/his status might be), and at the same time adhere to a certain philosophical school.

For over 40 years, Andrew Barker has been studying the ways in which
ancient Greek philosophers, scientists and others analysed and discussed the
structures underlying musical compositions; he has focused, in particular,
on their methodologies, the conceptual frameworks within which their
analyses were formed, and the various philosophical commitments they
brought to their work. This volume contains a selection of the essays
that Barker has published on these and related topics. The essays are
preceded by an English version of his book on ‘psychomusicology’,
previously published only in Italian. It examines Greek writers’ diverse
and often influential speculations about correlations between musical
structures and their counterparts in the soul, speculations which led them
to striking conclusions about music’s practical value in human affairs, and
to recommendations for appropriate ways of employing it in such fields as
– for example – moral education, psychotherapy, and the organization and
governance of a healthy society.