Kleos

This philosophical essay aims to return to the Socratic problem, ask it anew, and make an attempt to find its possible solution. In the introduction, the author briefly discusses to genesis of the Socratic problem and the basic methodological problems we encounter when dealing with it. Further on, it defines five basic sources of information about Socrates on which the interpretation tradition is based. Then the author outlines two key features of Socrates’ personality, aligned with the vast majority of sources: (1) Socrates’ belief that he has no theoretical knowledge; (2) Socrates’ predilection towards practical questions, and the practical dimension of his activity. In conclusion, the author expresses his belief that it is just this practical dimension of philosophy that has been in the ‘blind spot’ of the modern study of Socrates which paid too much attention to the search for his doctrine. The history of philosophy, however, does not only have to be the history of doctrines, but can also be the history of reflected life practices which inspire followers in their own practices while reflecting on them. The author therefore proposes to understand the historical Socrates as the paradigmatic figure of practical philosophy.

This paper examines the meaning and connectedness of Kleos (eternal glory, fame), Nostos (homecoming, heroic return) and Ponos (toil, ordeal, pain) in various myths from the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Epic Cycle. Despite being essential to the analysing cultural significance of Homeric tradition, folklore feels disconnected from initial manifestations of heroic stories. We can say that such an unfortunate outcome is caused by the popularity of non-poetic narratives that have been created by numerous writers to bring the coherent plot into the foreground. This approach might be a comprehensible presentation of the story, though such versions lack the essence of imprinting heroic deeds into epic poems by earning Kleos and sustaining heroes' Kleos by repeated performance. Thus, this essay explores the significance of Kleos, nostos and Ponos within the Homeric tradition and suggests that we should abandon a canonical way of reading these virtues because such approach does not correspond with original myths that had been passed down from generation to generation. For this purpose, above-mentioned heroic virtues will be demonstrated on examples of Odysseus, Diomedes, Telemonian Ajax, Neoptolemus and with emphasis on Achilles – the epitome of Kleos. Moreover, popular adherence to " multi-volume " way of reading the Trojan War will be re-evaluated by juxtaposing Homer's works and the Epic Cycle to locate distinct traditions regarding Kleos, Nostos and Ponos.

... | Ayuda. Note greche a Orazio, Epodo 11. Autores: Onofrio Vox; Localización: Kleos: estemporaneo di studi e testi sulla fortuna dell'antico, Nº. 2, 1997 , pags. 61-66. © 2001-2011 Universidad de La Rioja · Todos los derechos reservados. XHTML 1.0; UTF‑8.

This paper explores the inter- and extradiegetical functions of a story about Odysseus narrated by Athena to Telemachos in Odyssey 1, 255-68. It is argued that the representation of Odysseus in search of poison for his arrows need not to be thought first and foremost as a non-Homeric element or a morally disturbing action, for it may be analyzed by means of epic themes (specially by the mêtis-megatheme) explored not only in the Odyssey but in the Iliad as well. Besides, this story anticipates and condenses the plot of the poem.

This article argues that Cassandra’s speeches in Euripides’ Trojan Women critique and revise the rhetoric of Athenian funeral oration by drawing upon the themes and tropes of lament. In making her seemingly paradoxical claim that the Trojans are more fortunate than the Greeks, Cassandra combines funeral oration’s emphasis on dying gloriously for the homeland with lament’s consciousness of the suffering that the masculine pursuit of such glorious death in war causes for women and other non-combatants. By synthesizing these two viewpoints, she formulates a new code of conduct for warriors that grants glory only in wars that do not damage the stability of the oikos.

Ernest Becker described society as a symbolic action system designed to serve as a vehicle for earthly heroism. He advocates for a 'creative solution', which suggests that heroism can manifest itself objectively, through artworks. By further developing this idea (doubled by a Durkheimian perspective, and given that things can be people-like), I argue that some things can become heroic when being archived or put on display. Like heroic individuals, heroic objects are privileged things that distinguish themselves among stuff that goes unnoticed, while also being the central points of earthly heroic systems. Instead, heroic objects constrain the individuals to relate to them in a specific contemplative way, gaining cult value through exhibition. This used to be the case for relics and hero remains, but also the standard metre bar, which Marcel Duchamp cleverly ridiculed, underlining the contingent nature of cultural archived truths. Therefore, after broadly discussing heroic objects, I will narrow it down to the case of the standard metre and the readymades, further developing the idea of things becoming heroic objects.

... | Ayuda. Archiloco, fr. 184 West e un proverbio fiammingo. Autores: Onofrio Vox; Localización: Kleos: estemporaneo di studi e testi sulla fortuna dell'antico, Nº. 2, 1997 , pags. 135-136. © 2001-2011 Universidad de La Rioja · Todos los derechos reservados. XHTML 1.0; UTF‑8.

Revised and extended version of the paper "The Kind Look of the Muses, The Evil Eye of Ares. Encomiastic strategies in Callimachus and in Hellenistic inscriptional epitaphs." delivered at the International conference "Casting Off Shadows: Hellenistic Poetry Beyond Callimachean Aesthetics", Faculty of Classics, Cambridge University, UK, 1-3/09/16.
The paper has also been presented in part, and with significant variants,  at the Università degli Studi di Bologna (03/02/17) and at the Università La Sapienza, Roma (05/12/16).

Many Hellenistic epitaphs for youths fallen in battle point out that the deceased belonged to the civic élite of the hoi apo tou gymnasiou. The importance attached to the poetic and musical paideia in these epigrams is such that the excellence of the deceased in this field is mentioned even before the military valor (traditionally the focus of war epitaphs). The article examines in detail some case studies, analyzing how in these epitaphs the relationship between military kleos and intellectual prestige unfolds, and comparing them with some key-expressions of the poems of Callimachus.

... | Ayuda. Dei filologi che hanno idee. Autores: Francesco De Martino; Localización: Kleos: estemporaneo di studi e testi sulla fortuna dell'antico, Nº. 7, 2002 , pags. 351-362. © 2001-2010 Universidad de La Rioja · Todos los derechos reservados. XHTML 1.0; UTF‑8.