Il mare in tempesta nel De autexusio di Metodio d'Olimpo e nell'Hexaemeron di Giorgio di Pisidia
The article offers a fundamental comparison between a passage in the dialogue of Methodius of Olympus calles De libero arbitrio , and one in the Hexaemeron of George of Pisidia. The starting point is represented by a description of the stormy sea, contained in the De libero arbitrio . After a poetic...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | Italian |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2009
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| In: |
Byzantinische Zeitschrift
Year: 2009, Volume: 102, Issue: 1, Pages: 65-82 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The article offers a fundamental comparison between a passage in the dialogue of Methodius of Olympus calles De libero arbitrio , and one in the Hexaemeron of George of Pisidia. The starting point is represented by a description of the stormy sea, contained in the De libero arbitrio . After a poetical scene full of epical elements (high waves reach the sky and are like mountains), Methodius gives us an original representation of the sea: as the servant can't refuse to obey his master and mumbles by himself, so the sea has to restrain its anger and remain in its limits, even if it wants to be free. According to Job 38.11, it is forced to sacrifice its will, because there is a divine power that governs the universe. This passage may have influenced the composition of George of Pisidia. In fact, in his Hexaemeron the poet has come to personify the sea, first of all, with the image of a fugitive slave, then with a Bacchante who, taken by an impulse, wishes to go beyond the limits, and finally, with a female slave who is dragged away; this is created to support the conception that nature, in spite of natural impulse, is not independent and free, but is governed by God. Even if George of Pisidia inserts in his scene more details, the comparison of the sea with human subjects and the impossibility for it to be free refer to Methodius' passage. That the poet knew Methodius' writings is confirmed by one of his epigrams, in which he praises the bearing of the style of Methodius' works, based on evident lines of reasoning and divine inspiration. |
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| ISSN: | 1868-9027 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Byzantinische Zeitschrift
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/BYZS.2009.003 |