In Aetia fr. 1.3-5 Pfeiffer Callimachus complains that his adversaries, the Telchines, accuse him of not writing “one continuous poem in many thousands of verses”, celebrating “kings and heroes.” Callimachus did choose to celebrate kings and heroes, but in poetry that is subtle, short, allusive, learned and ironic. Contemporary kings occur particularly in the hymns to Zeus, Apollo, and Delos, while queens are more prominent in the Aetia. Hesiod is Callimachus’ most important Greek model in constructing an image of the just king from whom wealth, prosperity and peace flow. A number of scholars have also argued that Egyptian models of kingship may be in play as well, though filtered through Greek texts.
In Aetia fr. 1,3-5 Pfeiffer Callimaco si lamenta che i suoi avversari, i Telchini, lo accusano di non scrivere "un poema continua in molte migliaia di versi", che celebri "re ed eroi." Callimaco ha scelto di celebrare re e eroi, ma in una poesia che sia sottile, breve, allusiva, colta e ironica. I re contemporanei compaiono in particolare negli inni a Zeus, ad Apollo e a Delo, mentre le regine sono in primo piano negli Aetia. Esiodo è il modello più importante di Callimaco per la costruzione di un'immagine del re giusto da cui emanano ricchezza, prosperità e pace. Di recente si è anche messo in luce che nella poesia dotta alessandrina, specialmente in Callimaco, possano esservi allusioni anche a simboli ed elementi della regalità egiziana.
Barbantani, S., Callimachus on Kings and kingship, in Acosta-Hughes, B., Stephens, S., Lehnus, L. (ed.), The Brill Companion to Callimachus, ed. by L. Lehnus, B. Acosta-Hughes, S. Stephens, Brill, Leiden 2011: <<BRILL'S COMPANIONS IN CLASSICAL STUDIES>>, 178- 200 [http://hdl.handle.net/10807/2066]
Callimachus on Kings and kingship
Barbantani, Silvia
2011
Abstract
In Aetia fr. 1.3-5 Pfeiffer Callimachus complains that his adversaries, the Telchines, accuse him of not writing “one continuous poem in many thousands of verses”, celebrating “kings and heroes.” Callimachus did choose to celebrate kings and heroes, but in poetry that is subtle, short, allusive, learned and ironic. Contemporary kings occur particularly in the hymns to Zeus, Apollo, and Delos, while queens are more prominent in the Aetia. Hesiod is Callimachus’ most important Greek model in constructing an image of the just king from whom wealth, prosperity and peace flow. A number of scholars have also argued that Egyptian models of kingship may be in play as well, though filtered through Greek texts.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.