MARIA GRAZIA IODICE / MARIUSZ ZAGÓRSKI (eds.)

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1 MARIA GRAZIA IODICE / MARIUSZ ZAGÓRSKI (eds.) Carminis Personae Character in Roman Poetry, Frankfurt am Main 2014, pp ISBN Reviewed by Maria Elvira Consoli, Department of Cultural Heritage University of Salento, Lecce, Italy (ellaconsoli@libero.it) Preview The importance of the theme of Carminis Personae and the several poetic genres linked to it have led the scholars who participated in the Warsaw International Conference (June 17-18, 2009) to give varied interpretations of the subject and/or the object of the poems analyzed. The contributions to this volume can be divided into two groups: the majority of the contributions focus on the characters particularly described by a literary point of view, while the second group examines the subjects and the objects of the poems following the historical and political context. The first group includes the contributions delivered by Fedeli, Milewska- Waźbińska, Pigoń, Chrysostomou, Rzepkowski, Zagórski, Wesołowska, Marchetta, Wasyl, and Lew. Paolo Fedeli s interpretation (pp ) highlights Horace s admiration (vv. 5-32) for Pindarus s unique poetry as one of the most important themes of the ode. Fedeli identifies the carminis persona in Pindarus. Furthermore, he reconstructs the apparent dichotomy between Pindaric (vv. 5-24) and Callimachean style (vv ), demonstrating that Pindarus represents Callimachus s model, as shown by Horace himself, who expresses Callimachean metaphors and themes using a Pindaric style. Barbara Milewska-Waźbińska (pp ), following recent studies (Haarhoff 1960, Conte 1971 and 1979, Manzoni 1995, Martindale 2005, Cairns 2006), considers Gaius Cornelius Gallus both the subject and the object of Vergil s tenth Eclogue. Centered on the poet s insanity caused by Lycoris s infidelity, it represents the beginning of love elegy. Camilla and Asbyte are the focus of Vergil s and Silius Italicus s poems, respectively, as Jakub Pigoń suggests (pp ), following the analyses of several well-known critics (Brill 1972, Arrigoni 1982, Horsfall 1988, La Penna 1988, Morello 2008). Pigoń points out the narrative techniques used in the description of the two female warriors deeds and character. The comparison between Camilla and Asbyte has led Pigoń to highlight two kinds of aristeia. Camilla s aristeia differs from that of the 1

2 Amazons led by Hippolyta and Penthesilea. Asbyte s, on the other hand, is in line with the tradition of the Libyan Amazons. Following Leo (1881), Port (1926), Schuster (1930) and Cairns (1996), Theodora Chrysostomou (pp ) interprets the conference theme by identifying the subject and the author of the poems as the same person, in order to show the coherence of the Corpus Tibullianum. To this end, the core of every single poem (divitia/paupertas and alius/ego in elegy I; a symposium and an interior monologue in elegy II; the idea of death linked to military life in elegy III) is inextricably interconnected with the greater and more complex theme present in the whole Corpus Tibullianum, thus expressing the coherent value of the Corpus itself, as Heidegger s description (1996) of Hölderlin s poetry does: das im eigenen Gesetz stehende Gedicht bringt selbst unmittelbar ein Licht in die anderen Gedichte. Krzysztof Rzepkowski s analysis on the figure of the bawd (pp ) shows that this character can be described as one of the objects of Roman poetry. Plautus s (Asinaria, Cistellaria, Mostellaria, Curculio), Terence s (Hecyra), Tibullus s (1,5 and 2,6), Propertius s (4,5) and Ovid s (Am. 1,8) works confirm the fact that the bawd described in the elegy is strongly linked to the same figure in the Roman comedy. In all these poems, the lena (bawd), who is portrayed as a witch (Tib ) with a magical gaze (Ov. Am ), able to change herself into a wolf or an owl (Prop and Ov. Am ), thwarts the maiden s lover, thus becoming the poet s alter ego. Mariusz Zagórski s interpretation of the conference theme (pp ) seems rather eccentric, as, quoting Bakhtin s conception of poetry (2004), the scholar focuses his attention on the dialogues between the lover and his beloved. Zagórski points out that Propertius s (1.3 and 18; 2.5 and 29b) and Ovid s (1,14 and Am.1,4.) elegies present some elements declaration of love, accusation of unfaithfulness, defense, vision of a future encounter, jealousy of the rival, description of the rival s identity in line with Bakhtin s idea of the term dialogue. In Elżbieta Wesołowska s analysis (pp ), Princesses Ariadne and Medea are the focus of Seneca s tragedies Phaedra and Medea, where Ariadne s and Medea s love is not returned by Theseus s and Jason s, respectively. Wesołowska s point of view, based on some recent studies (Nowak 2002, Szajbel 2004, Armstrong 2006, Campbell 2008, Engelking 2010), clarifies two main points. First of all, her analysis is useful in order to accurately learn the myth of Medea, whose children, in Pausanias s ancient version, are killed by the Corinthians in revenge for Medea s lethal gifts to Jason s new wife. Secondly, Wesołowska s analysis clearly explains the idea of ancient heroism, which prevented Theseus and Jason from loving and going beyond the actual objectives of their tasks. 2

3 Antonio Marchetta (pp ) identifies the object of the Seneca s Thyestes in the persona of the tyrant. In contrast with the traditional views (Lana ), Marchetta shows that the essence of Seneca s Thyestes is not represented by its political aspects, but by Atreus s personal and psychological sufferings. In vv. 1096b-1099, Atreus does not rejoice over the pain caused to Thyestes, but over those images which seemingly restore the existing situation prior to Thyestes s actions: a faithful wife who has not experienced rape, giving birth to Atreus s legitimate children. The passages analyzed (vv ; ; 252b-254; 265b-266; ; 296 ff.; ; ; ; ; and particularly ) highlight that Atreus does not intend to kill Thyestes, but he wants to make him suffer, as the human aspect of the furor prevails over the political element. The furor could only be lessened by a scelus, through which the tyrant could create a new family situation to believe in. In Anna M. Wasyl s analysis (pp ), Lycoris, Aquilina, Candida and Graia puella are the objects of Maximianus s elegies, written in the Late Antiquity period. In order to understand Maximianus s poetry, it is essential to notice that the nostalgia the tremulus senex feels for his youth prevails over the erotic theme of the first elegy. Furthermore, the second elegy is focused on the absence of the beloved, disappointed by the senex decrepitus, while the third and fourth elegies deal with the unconsummated love for Aquilina and Candida. Finally, the fifth elegy is centered on Graia puella s complaints for the poet s dead mentula. All this explains the reason why Wasyl, following contemporary studies (Webster 1900, Nagle 1980, Consolino 1997), suggests a parallelism between Ovid, who describes himself as cinis, busta, umbra, simulacra (Tristia 3,11,26 ff.), and Maximianus who, in the fifth elegy, states that he has lost the best part of himself. Maximianus has the merit of having addressed some of the most controversial religious and philosophical themes of the 6 th century: the concept of the divine control of the mind over the body and the coniugii gratia, based on the sexual act. In Agnieszka Lew s analysis (pp ), Hippolytus is the persona object of the poetry. Following Green (2007), Lew notices that the persona of Hippolytus/Virbius abandons his previous personality in Virgil s Aeneid, while in Ovid s Metamorphoses, Hippolytus, although having reached Dis s reign, is restored to life by Cynthia/Diana, who changes his appearance and gives him a different name. Lew suggests that this contrasts with the Pythagorean doctrine according to which, after death, a single new identity can be assumed. Ovid has both created a character with a split personality and highlighted his twofold nature Hippolytus/Virbius. Virgil, on the other hand, has distinguished the character s first life from his second existence, as underlined in 3

4 Servius s popular passage: et eum Virbium quasi bis virum iussit vocari (Ad Verg, Aen ). The second group of scholars examines the authors and the characters of the poems, in terms of their historical and political context. In Maria Grazia Iodice s interpretation (pp ), the personae of Peneus and Inachus are the objects of Ovid s poetry. Iodice shows how Peneus and Inachus fondly share the experiences of their respective daughters, Daphne and Io, breaking with the traditional Roman concepts of severitas and gravitas, distinctive features of the Republican period. This, following Iodice s research (Degl Innocenti Pierini 1990 and 2008, Ciappi 2000, Leali 2000, Barchiesi 2005 and 2009, Luisi 2006), is due to the fact that Ovid attributes some motherly concern to these fathers, a trait which can be seen even in Jupiter s behavior (Met ; ; 2, ), The Sun/Apollo (Met. I, and II,1-328), emblem of Augustus, described as dreamed by the poet: a sovereign inspired by pietas and clementia towards his subjects, as a father is towards his children. In Aldo Luisi s interpretation of the conference theme (pp ), the sovereign Livia is the object of Ovid s poetry. After quoting Barret s monumental biography of the character (2006), Luisi examines the sovereign s portrayal in Fasti, Tristia and Epistulae ex Ponto. He focuses on Ovid s subtle irony in listing Livia among the gods and goddesses of Rome (Fasti 1,536), comparing her to Juno (ibid. 650) and mocking Augustus s plan to overhaul the wedding traditions through two laws Iulia de maritandis ordinibus and Iulia de adulteriis coercendis. This clearly explains Ovid s political thought and the reasons behind his exile, probably linked to both his criticism of the regime and his closeness to the anti-augustan party supporting Antony, led by Germanicus. Ovid, as subject and author, is at the core of Nicoletta Francesca Berrino s analysis (pp ), which highlights the defensive structure (exordium, probatio, peroratio, refutatio) of the only elegy in the second book of Ovid s Tristia. Ovid wrote this elegy to convince Augustus that his was an unpremeditated error as in the rare alternative version of the myth of inscius Actaeon. Ovid s elegy was an attempt, cunningly referring to Cicero s legal distinction between premeditation and inscientia, in order for Augustus to reduce the period of exile he had been sentenced to, due to his poems defaming Livia. In Krzysztof Tomasz Witczak s interpretation of the conference theme (pp ), the attention is focused on the short poem Ibis. The object of this work is a mysterious character, identified, through an incontrovertible analysis of verses , as Titus Labienus, an unworthy friend of the poet, a mediocre orator and a 4

5 sycophant. By examining the several hypotheses made by a number of both ancient (Rhodiginus 1506, Salvagnius 1661) and contemporary scholars (Merkel 1837, Ellis 1881, Raper 1885, Homme 1906, Verdiere 1973), Witczak deciphers Ovid s cephalonomasticon horizontal acrostic, which, read in both directions, shows the unambiguous phrase TITUS-IBIS/IBIS-TITUS. Pompey is the persona object of Aroldo Barbieri s analysis (pp ). Having examined the Bellum civile from both a historical and philosophical perspective, Barbieri shows that Pompey, defeated and no longer considered The Great, begins a process of interior purification, swerving from both his tragic present and glorious past (7.9 and ). What really marks Pompey s greatness are his misfortune and, following Stoic philosophy, his death. In particular, his death, inflicted by a traitor, makes Pompey become great again, allowing him to transcend human limits and to peacefully observe the course of events from heaven. This volume proves to be very interesting thanks to both the different interpretations of the conference theme given by the several contributors and the original analyses carried out on the carminis personae. This work requires a thorough reading and a double interpretative approach, in order to both objectively grasp the theme as well as the persona hidden in the poem and understand the importance they have in the Roman literary and political context. 5