Miasma e condizione eroica nell’Iliade

In this paper, we conduct an analysis of the Homeric occurrences of the word κόνις, «dust, ashes», starting from the passage in which Achilles’ horses mourning Patroclus refuse to move (Il. 17, 426-440). Their manes trailing in the dust recall significantly Achilles’ reaction when Antilochus told hi...

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Main Author: Ilaria Sforza
Format: Article
Language:Italian
Published: University of Perugia 2017-09-01
Series:Otium
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.otium.unipg.it/otium/article/view/25
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author Ilaria Sforza
author_facet Ilaria Sforza
author_sort Ilaria Sforza
collection DOAJ
description In this paper, we conduct an analysis of the Homeric occurrences of the word κόνις, «dust, ashes», starting from the passage in which Achilles’ horses mourning Patroclus refuse to move (Il. 17, 426-440). Their manes trailing in the dust recall significantly Achilles’ reaction when Antilochus told him of Patroclus’ death (Il. 18, 22-27). Similarly, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero reacts to the death of his dear friend Enkidu (tab. VIII 56-63). But Gilgamesh’s fear of death begins after his facing with the decomposition of Enkidu’s corpse (tab. X 60-75). In the Iliad, hero’s death begins when his head or his hair comes in contact with dust. Nevertheless, some heroes, like Hector and Sarpedon, are exceptionally preserved by the divine injection of nectar and ambrosia. This divine action could be interpreted as an attempt to preserve, together with the charis, also the memory of the hero unchanged in time.
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spelling doaj.art-5c7d5be3128a4f3fb112181197d80cf42022-12-22T03:07:11ZitaUniversity of PerugiaOtium2532-03352017-09-01225Miasma e condizione eroica nell’IliadeIlaria Sforza0Dipartimento di Studi letterari, filosofici e storia dell’arte, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”In this paper, we conduct an analysis of the Homeric occurrences of the word κόνις, «dust, ashes», starting from the passage in which Achilles’ horses mourning Patroclus refuse to move (Il. 17, 426-440). Their manes trailing in the dust recall significantly Achilles’ reaction when Antilochus told him of Patroclus’ death (Il. 18, 22-27). Similarly, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero reacts to the death of his dear friend Enkidu (tab. VIII 56-63). But Gilgamesh’s fear of death begins after his facing with the decomposition of Enkidu’s corpse (tab. X 60-75). In the Iliad, hero’s death begins when his head or his hair comes in contact with dust. Nevertheless, some heroes, like Hector and Sarpedon, are exceptionally preserved by the divine injection of nectar and ambrosia. This divine action could be interpreted as an attempt to preserve, together with the charis, also the memory of the hero unchanged in time.http://www.otium.unipg.it/otium/article/view/25Homeric poems, Epic of Gilgamesh, Homeric burial customs, Ancient Greek iconography, Ancient Greek religion
spellingShingle Ilaria Sforza
Miasma e condizione eroica nell’Iliade
Otium
Homeric poems, Epic of Gilgamesh, Homeric burial customs, Ancient Greek iconography, Ancient Greek religion
title Miasma e condizione eroica nell’Iliade
title_full Miasma e condizione eroica nell’Iliade
title_fullStr Miasma e condizione eroica nell’Iliade
title_full_unstemmed Miasma e condizione eroica nell’Iliade
title_short Miasma e condizione eroica nell’Iliade
title_sort miasma e condizione eroica nell iliade
topic Homeric poems, Epic of Gilgamesh, Homeric burial customs, Ancient Greek iconography, Ancient Greek religion
url http://www.otium.unipg.it/otium/article/view/25
work_keys_str_mv AT ilariasforza miasmaecondizioneeroicanelliliade