Le forme del morire

Death scenes of the ‘Aeneid’ are analysed as to gestures and proxemics present in them, as sign of the relationship between genus vitae e moriendi modus. The first chapter (‘La morte all’altare’) is about the motive or the death ad aras (remarkable are the cases of Sychaeus, Priam and Laocoon) and the various relationships of heroic death and sacrifice. The second (‘I tempi del morire: tra Livio e Virgilio’) copes both with the old and the young heroes’ attitude towards death ; the subject is developed in a comparative perspective : Vergilian and Livian narrative (of the Gauls’conquest of Rome) are put together so as to show the presence of common anthropological paradygms. The third part (‘Variazioni su un tema iliadico: la morte dei fratelli’) starts from the scenes of the ’Iliad’ telling the death of brother heroes and underlines the differences of the Vergilian scenes related to that Homeric source. Chapter four (Gesti d’amore e di morte’) esamines the ‘following motive’ as sign of devout love and hatred mostly in Creusa’s and Dido’s death in the context of ancient love poetry. The last part (‘La morte e l’ubriaco’) focuses on the death of the drunk and the Vergilin ironical attitude in treating this theme.