Silvia Mattiacci | University of Siena / Università di Siena (original) (raw)

Papers by Silvia Mattiacci

The dimension of otium strongly marks Hadrian’s life. By examining the historical evidence and hi... more The dimension of otium strongly marks Hadrian’s life. By examining the historical evidence and his few surviving poems, this paper intends to demonstrate how the poetic ludere constitutes the most original aspect of the literary otium of this cultured emperor and protector of the letters. Hadrian composed verses that both reveal his own complex personality and constitute the beginning of the so-called novella poetry, which had significant repercussions on the aesthetic canons of late antique poetry. His poetic nugae, which go back mainly to the neoteric models of the Republican period, show the archaizing taste of his time and the decline of the lofty literary genres, but also tend to marginalize the epigrammatic model imposed by Martial (‘committed’ to Romanizing and redeeming a 'minor' genre). This was, therefore, uncommitted poetry, a refined literary game reflecting the amateur character of the literature of the Antonine age and destined to have a profound impact on the poetae novelli of subsequent generations and later on Ausonius. As the creator and witness of this important “renewal” of poetic taste, Hadrian’s significant role deserves our attention.

Among all the ancient novels, the animal fable has a privileged relationship with the story of Lu... more Among all the ancient novels, the animal fable has a privileged relationship with the story of Lucius, whose metamorphosis into an ass subjects him to a fate of hunger, beatings, and un-bearable labours, just as often happens to the donkeys of fable. This paper focuses on Phae-drus’ version of the Aesopic fable and on Apuleius’ version of Lucius’ story: thanks to their poetics and thematic uarietas, they lend themselves to interesting intertextual parallels. First of all, the two Latin authors share the decision to rewrite a Greek original for a public of Roman language and culture, and both engage in a meaningful metaliterary dialogue with the reader. For this reason, we start from the analogies between the programmatic discourses with which, in a self-ironizing manner, both Phaedrus and Apuleius present to the reader humble and en-tertaining fabulae (which, however, conceal a deeper meaning); then we examine a series of thematic and linguistic convergences between their works (see esp. Phaed. 5.1 Z. (=4.1 G.) / Apul. Met. 8.24–26; Phaed. app. 8 Z. [=app. 10 G.] / Apul. Met. 9.9–10; Phaed. app. 14 Z. (=app. 16 G.) / Apul. Met. 6.28; 7.13; 9.39). The elements we point out are not meant to demonstrate Apuleius’ direct dependence on Phaedrus; rather, they constitute a significant tes-timony, in the Latin context, of osmosis between fable and novel, both of which are traditionally low and popular genres.

Facete dicere: elementi teorici del gioco di parole e del ridicolo nel pensiero retorico romano t... more Facete dicere: elementi teorici del gioco di parole e del ridicolo nel pensiero retorico romano tra i sec. a.C. e i d.C.,

Phaedrus is fully aware of the importance of his project for the renewal of the Aesopic fable and... more Phaedrus is fully aware of the importance of his project for the renewal of the Aesopic fable and he participates in the literary discourse of his time, defending his choice of a humble genre. The analogy with other low genres, such as epigram, satire, and the novel, clearly emerges from several aspects of his poetics and is confirmed by the presence in his fables of themes and characters typical of those genres. In this paper, we will focus on the figures of the tribas and the cinaedus (see 4,16 [=5,15 Z.]; 5,1 [=4,2 Z.] and app. 10 [app. 8 Z.]) as examples of gender and genre interactions: subtexts and parallels will allow us not only to define the sexual identity of these characters, but also to highlight similarities and differences to the aforementioned ‘realistic’ genres. Our analysis will show that Phaedrus introduces an unusual treatment of the stereotypical characters who engage in same-sex relations, thereby revealing the specific literary identity of his fables.

Sous l' étiquette poetae novelli sont regroupés une série d'auteurs, parmi lesquels Florus, qui o... more Sous l' étiquette poetae novelli sont regroupés une série d'auteurs, parmi lesquels Florus, qui ont vécu entre les ii e et iii e s. apr. J.-C. : ils ont composé des poèmes brefs, au ton léger, aux sujets variés et au goût excentrique, dont la plupart nous sont parvenus incomplets. Cette production peut être rattachée à celle épigrammatique seulement au sens large du terme, car sa métrique multiforme tend à récupérer une varietas formelle qui remonte à Catulle et aux poetae novi, révélant une union entre un lyrisme ténu et des formes épigrammatiques. 2] L' adjectif novellus est le terme par lequel le métricien Terentianus Maurus (ii e-iii e s.) désigne certains poètes auxquels il emprunte des exemples pour illustrer, dans son traité en vers (De metris, v. 1973, 2241, 2528), certaines formes métriques ; un autre grammairien, Diomède (iv e s.), utilise dans un contexte analogue l'adjectif neotericus (GLK I 514, 23 ; 516, 24 ; 517, 3). Ces deux termes opposent des poètes "récents" à des poètes "anciens", à savoir aux classiques du passé. La définition est par conséquent très vague : elle n'identifie en aucune façon un groupe défini de poètes et encore moins une école [13 ; 5 13-16 ; 23 157-159 ; 18 291 sq. ; 24 236-239 ; 32 300-302 ; 11 65 sq.], comme on l'a cru par le passé [cf. notamment 14 157-202 ; contre la récusation de l'idée d'une "école" poétique et pour une perspective différente et audacieuse, cf. 9]. En effet, excepté le cas de Florus et d'Hadrien, on n'a aucune preuve de rapports entre eux ; de plus leur chronologie, bien que parfois incertaine, nous apprend qu'ils n' ont pas appartenu non plus à la même époque. Toutefois la définition de poetae novelli, qui évoque à juste titre celle de poetae novi dont ils se sont ins

Nous savons par → Suétone qu' Auguste composa un petit livre d' épigrammes, dont il ne nous reste... more Nous savons par → Suétone qu' Auguste composa un petit livre d' épigrammes, dont il ne nous reste qu'un seul poème transmis par Martial. 2] Petit-neveu et fils adoptif de César, Caius Octavius apparaît sur la scène politique romaine à dix-neuf ans après la mort de son père adoptif (44 av. J.-C.). Dès lors, son nom officiel devint Caius

De l'activité poétique multiple de Pline le Jeune n' ont survécu que trois épigrammes, dont deux ... more De l'activité poétique multiple de Pline le Jeune n' ont survécu que trois épigrammes, dont deux sont conservées dans sa correspondance. On doit ajouter à ces témoignages une épigramme de Sentius Augurinus dédiée de façon spécifique aux vers légers de Pline et citée par Pline lui-même. 2] Gaius Caecilius Secundus est né à Côme en 61 ou 62 apr. J.-C. dans une famille aisée et très connue dans la région ; à la mort de son père, il fut adopté par Pline l' Ancien, frère de sa mère dont il prit le nom. Il fit ses études à Rome, où il eut comme maîtres de rhétorique Quintilien et le grec Nicetes Sacerdos. Il commença très jeune son activité d'avocat, qui lui valut des succès remarquables,

Phaedrus, Martial, and Apuleius are aware that their works belong to a ‘low’ literary genre, and ... more Phaedrus, Martial, and Apuleius are aware that their works belong to a ‘low’ literary genre, and they all react with self-mocking understatement and constant dialogue with the reader. This strategy of defence is particularly prominent in passages where a metaliterary intersection with ‘high’ genres is proposed: Phaedr. 4,7; Mart. 8,3; Apul. met. 10,2. The paper focuses on these passages and examines the meaning and function that the shift from ‘sock’ to ‘buskin’ – to use their metaphor – has for the three authors. This comparison shows that Apuleius does not share Phaedrus’ and Martial’s open irony and polemic against lofty, ‘anti-realistic’ poetry, and does not exclude the presence of elevated genres, such as tragedy, in the open form of the novel. However, in Apuleius, tragedy is brougt down to the expressive code of the novel, and the veiled trace of authorial irony confirms the ‘metamorphosis’ of genre.

This paper starts by examining briefly the singular Fortleben, in the early centuries of the empi... more This paper starts by examining briefly the singular Fortleben, in the early centuries of the empire, of Phaedrus’ work, which spread in the school in the form of prose paraphrases generically labelled as Aesopi fabellae (or logoi). Then we focus on the revival of the fable and on its ‘metamorphoses’ between the 4th and 5th centuries. Some evidence from Ausonius is examined, which shows a renewed interest in the fable and safer references to the poetic collection of Phaedrus, as well as examples of contamination between fable and epigram (epist. 9; epigr. 12 and 79 Green), which might have influenced Avianus’ revival of the genre shortly afterwards and, in particular, the passage from the fable in iambic verses to that in elegiac couplets one. Concerning Avianus, the programmatic epistle preceding his collection and fable 28 are analyzed, in order to clarify a common problem with Ausonius, that is, if it is possible to assume in these authors a direct knowledge of Phaedrus’ work and not only through its prose paraphrases.

Sur le caractère digressif du De reditu et sur la tendance typique de l'antiquité tardive à subdi... more Sur le caractère digressif du De reditu et sur la tendance typique de l'antiquité tardive à subdiviser le récit en une série de différentes unités de composition, voir Roberts 1988, en partic. p. 185-187 ; cette caractéristique fondamentale ne mine pas en tout cas l'unité du petit poème, dont la variété de thèmes possède une cohérence interne substantielle : cf.

This paper begins with a study of the etymology, meaning and main occurrences of Latin ineptia(e)... more This paper begins with a study of the etymology, meaning and main occurrences of Latin ineptia(e), followed by the literary analysis of its usage in connection to ‘minor’ or ‘light’ poetry in the works of Catullus, Martial, Pliny the Younger, and Ausonius. The results show that ineptiae equals nugae as a technical term of literary criticism in discussions around ‘minor’ poetry, where it can relate to an (ironic) self-deprecating or apologetic attitude (variously interpreted and expressed) on the part of those practicing that type of poetry. Further attention is then devoted to a larger group of terms (including apinae, tricae, quisquiliae, burrae), which, as ineptia(e), originally belong to everyday language and are used in the specifically literary sense of ‘light poetry’, showing the progressive accentuation of the lexicon of apologetic modesty.

La publication récente du volume Apuleius and Africa 1 montre que le problème de la relation entr... more La publication récente du volume Apuleius and Africa 1 montre que le problème de la relation entre Apulée et sa terre d'origine est revenu au premier plan, recevant une impulsion nouvelle grâce à des enquêtes menées sous plusieurs perspectives et avec une approche pluridisciplinaire. Si nous réfléchissons sur le fait qu'Apulée est né en Afrique, où il a reçu sa première formation intellectuelle et où il semble avoir passé une grande partie de sa vie, on peut naturellement penser que son identité et par conséquent son oeuvre conservent la trace d'un héritage culturel africain, certes difficile à définir, mais qu'on ne peut pas sous-évaluer ou limiter à une présumée (et souvent critiquée) Africitas linguistique, comme on l'a fait par le passé. Le problème, en effet, doit être relié à une plus vaste série de questions qui concernent Rome, la Grèce et l'intégration progressive entre les deux cultures au II e siècle ap. J.C. 2 , sans oublier le concept même de « provincialisme ». M'étant occupée, dans le volume en question, de l'identité linguistique d'Apulée 3 , je voudrais réfléchir de nouveau sur la question de son bilinguisme, ou plutôt de son trilinguisme, et m'interroger sur les traces de cette expérience que l'on peut percevoir dans les Métamorphoses.

This paper examines some epigrams of Ausonius’ Bissula, underscoring the literary dimension in wh... more This paper examines some epigrams of Ausonius’ Bissula, underscoring the literary dimension in which the biographical relationship between the poet-patronus and his young slave-alumna is rewritten in these verses. The girl is seen as an erotic subject and elegiac domina, whose ambiguous identity results in an ideal combination of perfect Latin upbringing and natural German beauty (see in particular the indigenous feature of the blonde hair), which makes her superior to the Latiae pupae and, implicitly, to the puellae of the elegiac tradition (Biss. 3-4). The theme of Bissula’s beauty, which needs no artifice, becomes central in Biss. 5-6, in connection with the subject of the portrait, in which Ausonius proposes again, in a new and original way, some conventions of ecfrastic poetry. The highlighted models make it possible to establish what the general tone of the collection must have been and to reconsider hypotheses about its incompleteness.

Resumo: Este artigo se centra em alguns epigramas de Marcial (7, 84; 9, 76; 10, 32; 1, 109; 9, 43... more Resumo: Este artigo se centra em alguns epigramas de Marcial (7, 84; 9, 76; 10, 32; 1, 109; 9, 43-44) e Ausônio (epigr. 12; Biss. 5; epigr. 11 Green) com o objetivo de refletir sobre a relação complexa entre arte e texto. Os exemplos selecionados destacam as estratégias com as quais o epigrama ecfrástico pretende apresentar-se não como o pálido reflexo do poder de uma imagem, mas como um produto criativo e competitivo que expressa algo que a imagem visual não consegue expressar.
Palavras-Chave: Epigrama ecfrástico; Marcial; Ausônio; Arte/texto

Athenaeum, 2018

Peer-review. Articoli e note inviati per la pubblicazione alla rivista sono sottoposti -nella for... more Peer-review. Articoli e note inviati per la pubblicazione alla rivista sono sottoposti -nella forma del doppio anonimato -a peer-review di due esperti, di cui uno almeno esterno al Comitato Scientifico o alla Direzione. Nel secondo fascicolo delle annate pari è pubblicato l'elenco dei revisori.

Starting from the explicit reference to Ovid in an epigram by Ausonius dealing with sexual metam... more Starting from the explicit reference to Ovid in an epigram by Ausonius
dealing with sexual metamorphoses (72), this paper examines
a series of erotic (14; 20; 91; 102-103) and mythological (11; 108-114)
epigrams by this author, which show a significant presence of Ovid
(especially of the Amores, the Ars and the Metamorphoses). The aim
of this analysis is to highlight on the one hand the various forms taken
by of Ausonius’ allusive technique, on the other the particular success
of certain elegiac themes and Ovidian metamorphic myths, which
Ausonius adapts to the short form of epigram, following the significant
precedent of Martial. Most importantly, Ausonius’ miniaturised
myths always grasp the essential aspects of the Metamorphoses tales or
else play on taking their distance from them, in an ongoing dialogue
with the model which presupposes a careful and insightful reading
of Ovid’s text.

Athenaeum, 2018

The anti-mythological controversy and the neoteric inheritance constitute two relevant aspects of... more The anti-mythological controversy and the neoteric inheritance constitute two relevant aspects of Martial’s poetics, which is inspired by coherent, if not systematic, lines of thought. Martial accepts the brief form of the Callimachean-neoteric tradition, but refuses its excess of formal elegance and its metrical experimentalism, as well as the vacuity of mythological poetry, in the name of an art that will mirror life and its customs. In this context, Martial’s neoteric inheritance is combined with certain programmatic elements of the satirical tradition, i.e. with the anti-mythological controversy. In the first part of the volume, A. Perruccio identifies the antecedents of the rejection of ‘high’ mythological poetry in the critical judgements of Lucilius, Horace and Persius, while showing that in Martial this controversy is combined with the rhetorical-stylistic reuse of myth. In the second part S. Mattiacci (“Martial and the Fortunes of Neoterism”, pp. 137-218) stresses the importance of Catullus as a model for Martial, while underscoring the specificity of his ‘neoterism’ in relation to the predominant fashions that are found through an analysis of poetic evidence prior to and immediately after, from Maecenas to Pliny the Younger and his circle of poets.

Quando entrai per la prima volta a Lettere in Piazza Brunelleschi era molto spaesata, cercavo la ... more Quando entrai per la prima volta a Lettere in Piazza Brunelleschi era molto spaesata, cercavo la Segreteria e mi rivolsi a un signore che trovai nell'atrio, davanti all'ascensore. Non sapevo ovviamente che la persona a cui facevo quella 'banale' domanda era il 'mitico' Ronconi, autore di tanti miei testi liceali; ma certamente quell'incontro -il mio primo incontro a Lettere -non fu casuale se oggi, a distanza di trent'anni dalla sua morte, sono qui a ricordarlo con voi. Sono stata una degli ultimi laureati di Ronconi e di lui conservo un ricordo davvero caro per gli stimoli che sapeva suscitare negli allievi, per la cura e l'intelligenza con cui seguiva i seminari e le tesi di