Search results for "Orpheu"
showing 5 items of 5 documents
Singing to the Wind
2021
Abstract This paper focuses on a passage of Himerius’ Oration 47 (Simon. fr. 251 Poltera = 535 PMG + p. 157 SLG), where Simonides is cited for a song that leads a ship with favourable winds, and on a passage in Plutarch’s Quaestiones Convivales (722b–c) quoting a Simonidean fragment (17 Poltera = 595 PMG) on the propagation of sounds through still air. I argue that they both can be linked with the Argonautic myth of Orpheus. In fact, the former might have some connections with the myth of Oreithyia and Boreas, parents of Zetes and Kalaïs, involved in the Argonautic expedition; moreover, it has some similarities with a fragment from Euripides’ Hypsipyle (752g Kannicht) representing Orpheus o…
Soothing Lyres and epodai: Music Therapy and the Cases of Orpheus, Empedocles and David
2014
Within the frame of the role of music in ancient Greece, this short essay focuses on the soothing effects of the lyre as evidence for the use of music not only for religious or educational purposes, but also for therapeutic ones. The music of the lyre proves useful both for the performer, and for people listening to it. The main two pieces of evidence analyzed, namely Iamblichus, De Vita Pythagorica 113, and, within a different cultural context - the biblical one - 1 Samuel XVI.16, that after many centuries was taken up again by the historian Joseph Flavius (Antiquitates Iudaicae VI 166-169), well illustrate the healing effects of music.
Sirene nell'Ade. L'aulo, la lira e il lutto
2016
Although music might seem to have nothing to do with death and the grief caused by it (to ban any music making from one’s house is a distinctive feature of mourning), yet dirges (threnoi) bestow upon the deceased both praise and the possibility to be remembered, and soothe the grief of his family and friends, and of the community as a whole. Thus the living accompany the soul of the dead in its descent to the Underworld by means of music, that seems to be the last connection with life. On a mythical-religious level, such an accompaniment is brought about by the Sirens, prayed by Helen so that they could join her in mourning the loss of the many warriors who have died because of her (Eur. He…
THE ARGONAUTICA ORPHICA VERSION FOR THE VOYAGE OF THE ARGONAUTS: A GEO-ANALYSIS
2017
This study traces and analyzes the itinerary followed by Argo and her crew, according to the unknown author of Argonautica Orphica: The voyage of the Argonauts from Iolcos to Colchis and their return following a different path, from Phasis River through central Europe to the Atlantic Ocean and then through the Mediterranean Sea. Conclusions are drawn about whether such a voyage could be possible in the remote antiquity and the “problematic” points of the description are pointed out.
The afterworld space in the "Poem strip" (1969) by Dino Buzzati
2018
L’obiettivo del contributo è l’analisi dello spazio oltremondano in Poema a fumetti(1969) di Dino Buzzati, graphic novelante-litteram. Buzzati riscrive, in chiave ultramoderna e laica, sia il mito di Orfeo ed Euridice, restituendo la centralità alla potenza della musica, sia il mito della discesa agli inferi, toposassoluto della letteratura italiana a partire da Dante e rappresentazione allegorica dell’oltretomba cristiano. In particolare Buzzati inventa una rappresentazione visiva dello spazio dell’aldilà dove sono essenziali due elementi: la continuità/discontinuità dei due mondi, nominalmente diversi, e le cornici che permettono il passaggio da un mondo all’altro. Il motivo ricorrente di…