I try to reconstruct the text of two passages of the so called Servius auctus that were obelised ... more I try to reconstruct the text of two passages of the so called Servius auctus that were obelised by Georg Thilo.
The Cento Probae includes an account of the creation of the universe (CP 56-135) which follows a ... more The Cento Probae includes an account of the creation of the universe (CP 56-135) which follows a very different chronology from that of the biblical creation narrative (Gn 1f.). Since the CP is regarded as a “bible paraphrase”, this deviation from its sacrosanct model is puzzling and, hence, has received attention by modern scholars. Our contribution presents a new chronological reading of the creation in the CP by contextualizing Proba’s rearrangements and innovations in the framework of the biblical exegesis. We propose the following rationale behind the design of Proba’s creation account: (1) inspired by Bible exegesis on the dies unus, she considers the first step of the creation to be a special stage (day ‘zero’ = stage I), set on the brink of time and finished by the first dawn; (2) following ancient rationalizing interpretations of Genesis, Proba thinks that this dawn can only result from the heavenly bodies which had to be created on ‘day zero’; after ‘day zero’, she tells about the first four ‘proper days’ (= stages II-V of the creation); (3) the subsequent creation of man (Proba’s sixth day = stage VII) aims at reconciling the double account of the Bible (Gn 1.26f.; 2.4ff.). This ‘fusion’ has not only narrative purposes, but also theological implications, if one considers the lively exegetical debate on the distinction between the two accounts; (4) the prominent position of man’s creation is emphasized by a preceding whole day of reflection (Proba’s empty fifth day = stage VI). From a general point of view, Proba partially gives up the precise progression of days in Genesis, but she is careful in reproducing the creation in seven days in Genesis by describing a creation in seven stages. This perspective improves the chronology of Proba’s creation account recently proposed by Bažil (2007), Schottenius Cullhed (2015) and Lucarini (2015), whose approaches, though innovative and stimulating, seem to be flawed in the way they count the days and interpret the strange formula iamque dies alterque dies processit (CP 107).
Article review: M. Carmignani, L. Graverini, B. Todd Lee (edd.), Collected studies on the Roman n... more Article review: M. Carmignani, L. Graverini, B. Todd Lee (edd.), Collected studies on the Roman novel / Ensayos sobre la novela romana, Córdoba, 2013
Conference: sicut commentatores loquuntur. Authorship and commentaries on poetry. University of L... more Conference: sicut commentatores loquuntur. Authorship and commentaries on poetry. University of Leipzig, September 26-28, 2019
Convegno "RITORNO AL FUTURO. I Punica di Silio Italico nella tradizione dell'epica storica romana... more Convegno "RITORNO AL FUTURO. I Punica di Silio Italico nella tradizione dell'epica storica romana". 10-11/11/2019, Università di Udine
Reappraisal of the stemma of the Satyricon and of some aspects of its indirect tradition.
11. Cel... more Reappraisal of the stemma of the Satyricon and of some aspects of its indirect tradition. 11. Celtic Classics Conference, St Andrews, 11-14.7.2018; Panel 13: Texts, Traditions, Transmission: New Work on the Latin Classics (organizers: Justin Stover; Jarrett Welsh).
Thanks to a reappraisal of Petronius' Bellum civile and of its relationship to Lucan this paper s... more Thanks to a reappraisal of Petronius' Bellum civile and of its relationship to Lucan this paper sheds new light on the problem of the representation of the Divine in the Latin epic tradition. (23. Aquilonia, Leipzig, 6.7.2018)
Textual and interpretive problems of the so called Servius auctus, with a particular focus on an ... more Textual and interpretive problems of the so called Servius auctus, with a particular focus on an alleged fragment of Lucretius.
A critical reconsideration of Petronius' direct and indirect tradition, with a focus on the Flori... more A critical reconsideration of Petronius' direct and indirect tradition, with a focus on the Florilegium Gallicum.
Paper presented at the conference "Un cantiere petroniano. Cena Trimalchionis: edizione e commento" (2-3/11/2017 University of Florence; organisers M. Labate and G. Vannini).
Workshop "Was will der Autor?", Universität Rostock, Heinrich Schliemann-Institut für Altertumswi... more Workshop "Was will der Autor?", Universität Rostock, Heinrich Schliemann-Institut für Altertumswissenschaften (05-06.12.2014)
I try to reconstruct the text of two passages of the so called Servius auctus that were obelised ... more I try to reconstruct the text of two passages of the so called Servius auctus that were obelised by Georg Thilo.
The Cento Probae includes an account of the creation of the universe (CP 56-135) which follows a ... more The Cento Probae includes an account of the creation of the universe (CP 56-135) which follows a very different chronology from that of the biblical creation narrative (Gn 1f.). Since the CP is regarded as a “bible paraphrase”, this deviation from its sacrosanct model is puzzling and, hence, has received attention by modern scholars. Our contribution presents a new chronological reading of the creation in the CP by contextualizing Proba’s rearrangements and innovations in the framework of the biblical exegesis. We propose the following rationale behind the design of Proba’s creation account: (1) inspired by Bible exegesis on the dies unus, she considers the first step of the creation to be a special stage (day ‘zero’ = stage I), set on the brink of time and finished by the first dawn; (2) following ancient rationalizing interpretations of Genesis, Proba thinks that this dawn can only result from the heavenly bodies which had to be created on ‘day zero’; after ‘day zero’, she tells about the first four ‘proper days’ (= stages II-V of the creation); (3) the subsequent creation of man (Proba’s sixth day = stage VII) aims at reconciling the double account of the Bible (Gn 1.26f.; 2.4ff.). This ‘fusion’ has not only narrative purposes, but also theological implications, if one considers the lively exegetical debate on the distinction between the two accounts; (4) the prominent position of man’s creation is emphasized by a preceding whole day of reflection (Proba’s empty fifth day = stage VI). From a general point of view, Proba partially gives up the precise progression of days in Genesis, but she is careful in reproducing the creation in seven days in Genesis by describing a creation in seven stages. This perspective improves the chronology of Proba’s creation account recently proposed by Bažil (2007), Schottenius Cullhed (2015) and Lucarini (2015), whose approaches, though innovative and stimulating, seem to be flawed in the way they count the days and interpret the strange formula iamque dies alterque dies processit (CP 107).
Article review: M. Carmignani, L. Graverini, B. Todd Lee (edd.), Collected studies on the Roman n... more Article review: M. Carmignani, L. Graverini, B. Todd Lee (edd.), Collected studies on the Roman novel / Ensayos sobre la novela romana, Córdoba, 2013
Conference: sicut commentatores loquuntur. Authorship and commentaries on poetry. University of L... more Conference: sicut commentatores loquuntur. Authorship and commentaries on poetry. University of Leipzig, September 26-28, 2019
Convegno "RITORNO AL FUTURO. I Punica di Silio Italico nella tradizione dell'epica storica romana... more Convegno "RITORNO AL FUTURO. I Punica di Silio Italico nella tradizione dell'epica storica romana". 10-11/11/2019, Università di Udine
Reappraisal of the stemma of the Satyricon and of some aspects of its indirect tradition.
11. Cel... more Reappraisal of the stemma of the Satyricon and of some aspects of its indirect tradition. 11. Celtic Classics Conference, St Andrews, 11-14.7.2018; Panel 13: Texts, Traditions, Transmission: New Work on the Latin Classics (organizers: Justin Stover; Jarrett Welsh).
Thanks to a reappraisal of Petronius' Bellum civile and of its relationship to Lucan this paper s... more Thanks to a reappraisal of Petronius' Bellum civile and of its relationship to Lucan this paper sheds new light on the problem of the representation of the Divine in the Latin epic tradition. (23. Aquilonia, Leipzig, 6.7.2018)
Textual and interpretive problems of the so called Servius auctus, with a particular focus on an ... more Textual and interpretive problems of the so called Servius auctus, with a particular focus on an alleged fragment of Lucretius.
A critical reconsideration of Petronius' direct and indirect tradition, with a focus on the Flori... more A critical reconsideration of Petronius' direct and indirect tradition, with a focus on the Florilegium Gallicum.
Paper presented at the conference "Un cantiere petroniano. Cena Trimalchionis: edizione e commento" (2-3/11/2017 University of Florence; organisers M. Labate and G. Vannini).
Workshop "Was will der Autor?", Universität Rostock, Heinrich Schliemann-Institut für Altertumswi... more Workshop "Was will der Autor?", Universität Rostock, Heinrich Schliemann-Institut für Altertumswissenschaften (05-06.12.2014)
Dipartimento di Studi umanistici e del patrimonio culturale CONVEGNO INTERNAZIONALE RITORNO AL FU... more Dipartimento di Studi umanistici e del patrimonio culturale CONVEGNO INTERNAZIONALE RITORNO AL FUTURO I Punica di Silio Italico nella tradizione dell'epica storica romana 10-11 SETTEMBRE 2019 / SALA CONVEGNI 'ROBERTO GUSMANI' PALAZZO ANTONINI, VIA PETRACCO 8, UDINE MARTEDÌ 10 SETTEMBRE ore 14.30 / SALUTI DI BENVENUTO ANDREA ZANNINI (Direttore del Dipartimento di Studi umanistici e del patrimonio culturale) Introduzione al convegno ANTONY AUGOUSTAKIS (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) MARCO FUCECCHI (Università di Udine) ESEMPLARITÀ ED EZIOLOGIA I SESSIONE (15-16.15) Silius the Classicist. Exemplarity and epic structures CHRISTIANE REITZ (Universität Rostock) Silio interprete di Virgilio: Didone nei Punica SERGIO CASALI (Università di Roma 2-Tor Vergata) Discussione coffee break (16.15-16.45) II SESSIONE (16.45-18.30) Aetia of the past: stories of origin in Silius Italicus' Punica ANKE WALTER (Newcastle University) Facilis laeto certasse sapori: Falerno nei Punica, tra ospitalità ed eccesso (e altra eziologia siliana) ENRICO MARIA ARIEMMA (Università di Salerno) Hannibal's Iberian allies, harbingers of a Roman province, or Iberica, the epic which Silius might have written R. JOY LITTLEWOOD (Independent Scholar) Discussione MERCOLEDÌ 11 SETTEMBRE QUESTIONI DI GENERE LETTERARIO III SESSIONE (9.15-11) Magnitudo animi and temperantia in Cicero and in Silius Italicus THOMAS BAIER (Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg) Tra epica e storiografia: divergenze e analogie PAOLO ESPOSITO (Università di Salerno) Lucano e la trasformazione del genere epico NICOLA LANZARONE (Università di Salerno) Discussione coffee break (11-11.30) IV SESSIONE (11.30-12.45) Il Bellum civile di Petronio e l'epica flavia STEFANO POLETTI (Scuola Normale Superiore-Pisa) Empire's ends: tracing Roman power from Aeneas to Hannibal Discussione TRADIZIONE E MEMORIA V SESSIONE (15-16.15) Silius and Ovid's Roman History RAYMOND MARKS (University of Missouri) L'aristia di Scevola in Silio, Punica IX 370-400: tra spunto storico e rielaborazione epica FILIPPO FABBRI (Università di Venezia-Ca' Foscari) Discussione coffee break (16.15-16.45) VI SESSIONE (16.45-18.30) Romuleos superabit voce nepotes (Pun. 3.618): Rewriting the memory of Romulus in Silius Italicus' Punica.
Conference at the University of Leipzig, September 26-28, 2019
Organized by Ute Tischer (Leipzig... more Conference at the University of Leipzig, September 26-28, 2019
From a hermeneutical point of view, referring to the author of a text is useful in many respects. Knowledge about the author helps to situate a work in time and space and to identify contexts; defining a work as the product of a (single) author can explain its coherence in respect of topic and style. The ‘speaking I’ becomes the target of the reader’s attribution of intentions and authority, especially when the rhetorical design of a text creates authorial figures or voices. In recent years, studies in classical literature have focused increasingly on author roles, author figures and author voices as part of the rhetorical texture. Technical prose and exegetical literature in particular are attracting attention as discursive areas, where emphasising authorial activities and authorial voices is a rhetorical means to constitute authority. Common to most of the work to date is that scholars usually investigate author roles and authority in texts whose attribution to an empirical author is not questionable. Our conference by contrast will concentrate on works whose authorial status is in question. The corpus of the extant Virgilian exegesis provides a good example. Apart from commentaries attributed to certain authors (Servius and Tiberius Claudius Donatus), it comprises various authorless, anonymous and pseudepigraphic compilations. The aim of the conference is to shed light on the possible consequences of such doubtful authorial attribution for the reading of these and other collective, authorless texts from an ancient as well as a modern perspective.
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Papers by Stefano Poletti
Talks by Stefano Poletti
11. Celtic Classics Conference, St Andrews, 11-14.7.2018; Panel 13: Texts, Traditions, Transmission: New Work on the Latin Classics (organizers: Justin Stover; Jarrett Welsh).
25.5.2018, Leipzig, Oberseminar
Paper presented at the conference "Un cantiere petroniano. Cena Trimalchionis: edizione e commento" (2-3/11/2017 University of Florence; organisers M. Labate and G. Vannini).
11. Celtic Classics Conference, St Andrews, 11-14.7.2018; Panel 13: Texts, Traditions, Transmission: New Work on the Latin Classics (organizers: Justin Stover; Jarrett Welsh).
25.5.2018, Leipzig, Oberseminar
Paper presented at the conference "Un cantiere petroniano. Cena Trimalchionis: edizione e commento" (2-3/11/2017 University of Florence; organisers M. Labate and G. Vannini).
Organized by Ute Tischer (Leipzig), Thomas-Kuhn Treichel (Heidelberg), Stefano Poletti (Pisa)
From a hermeneutical point of view, referring to the author of a text is useful in many respects. Knowledge about the author helps to situate a work in time and space and to identify contexts; defining a work as the product of a (single) author can explain its coherence in respect of topic and style. The ‘speaking I’ becomes the target of the reader’s attribution of intentions and authority, especially when the rhetorical design of a text creates authorial figures or voices.
In recent years, studies in classical literature have focused increasingly on author roles, author figures and author voices as part of the rhetorical texture. Technical prose and exegetical literature in particular are attracting attention as discursive areas, where emphasising authorial activities and authorial voices is a rhetorical means to constitute authority. Common to most of the work to date is that scholars usually investigate author roles and authority in texts whose attribution to an empirical author is not questionable.
Our conference by contrast will concentrate on works whose authorial status is in question. The corpus of the extant Virgilian exegesis provides a good example. Apart from commentaries attributed to certain authors (Servius and Tiberius Claudius Donatus), it comprises various authorless, anonymous and pseudepigraphic compilations. The aim of the conference is to shed light on the possible consequences of such doubtful authorial attribution for the reading of these and other collective, authorless texts from an ancient as well as a modern perspective.