Adviser, Expert or Teacher? The Political Dimension of Aratus’s Phaenomena
Lorgeoux Bouayad, Laetitia
Adviser, Expert or Teacher? The Political Dimension of Aratus’s Phaenomena - 2017.
76
Aratus’s Phaenomena, commissioned by Antigonus Gonatas, would normally have been a political work, given the friendship between the two men, the topic of the poem, and its didactic form, conducive to advice-giving. Yet, hardly any political thinking can be found in it; there is even not any sign of a direct address to the king. This paradox suggests investigating the real relationship between the prince and the poet and looking for related evidence in the text. It would be opportune to question the silences of the author; and a related question is to what extent this modesty is more indicative of him being the poet from the ideal city of Plato rather than the Stoic teacher Aratus has traditionally been considered to be.
Adviser, Expert or Teacher? The Political Dimension of Aratus’s Phaenomena - 2017.
76
Aratus’s Phaenomena, commissioned by Antigonus Gonatas, would normally have been a political work, given the friendship between the two men, the topic of the poem, and its didactic form, conducive to advice-giving. Yet, hardly any political thinking can be found in it; there is even not any sign of a direct address to the king. This paradox suggests investigating the real relationship between the prince and the poet and looking for related evidence in the text. It would be opportune to question the silences of the author; and a related question is to what extent this modesty is more indicative of him being the poet from the ideal city of Plato rather than the Stoic teacher Aratus has traditionally been considered to be.
Réseaux sociaux