Tra magico e sacro: gli Eidola nella Grecia Arcaica e Classica

Riassunto: A partire dalla concezione sottesa all’eidolon quale presenza o sostituto dell’assente, si cercherà di tracciare un percorso che, coadiuvato dalla narrazione mitologica e dalle attestazioni iconografiche, consenta di effettuare una corretta valutazione della valenza magica attribuita agli agalmata di età arcaica. È questa infatti l’accezione più ampia del termine eidola, che viene spesso usato dagli studiosi di scienze dell’antichità come sinonimo di statue di culto. In realtà il vocabolo appare caratterizzato da un’eccezionale fluidità di significato, coincidente con il diverso uso che di questa parola viene fatto da Omero ai tragici. Ad accrescere la difficoltà interpretativa si aggiunge la discrepanza tra l’idea di eidola desumibile dagli autori antichi, pur nella diversificazione di piani semantici cui si è accennato, e la sua caratterizzazione iconografica. Il presente intervento si propone dunque di indagare un fenomeno complesso e ricco di sfaccettature, tali da inserirlo nella categoria psicologica del “doppio” al pari dell’ “oneiros”, del “phàsma”, del “kolossòs”e delle “psykaì”. Si avrà modo, infine, di spiegare il passaggio che ha portato al progressivo attenuarsi in età classica del rapporto magico tra immagine-persona raffigurata, che ha il suo esito nella concezione della raffigurazione individuale come opera d’arte.Parole chiave: eidolon, immagine, kolossos, doppio, ceramica atticaAbstract: Starting from the meaning of the eidolon as presence or replacement of the absent, this paper aims to give a proper assessment of the magical value of the agalmata in the archaic period, throughout an examination of both mythical and iconographical sources. This is the broadest sense of the word eidola indeed, which is often used by scholars of antiquity as a synonym of cult statues or agalmata. The term eidolon, in fact, seems to be characterized by an exceptionally changeable meaning, according to the varied use of this word since Homer to tragedians. In addition to this polysemy, what makes the understanding of the eidola even harder, is the different significance given to this word either from ancient texts or iconography. This paper, therefore, will investigate such a complex and multifaceted phenomenon, which may be placed in the psychological category of the “double”, that includes also “oneiros”, “phàsma”, “kolossòs” and “psykaì”. Finally, this paper will explain how the magical relation between the image and the depicted person represented by the former, becomes weaker and weaker in Classical Age, and it ends as soon as the individual representation is intended as a work of art.Keywords: eidolon, image, kolossos, double, Attic potter

Innovazione e sperimentazione. Alcune considerazioni sui “Pionieri” e la prima ceramografia ateniese a figure rosse

L’articolo è incentrato su un gruppo di ceramografi ateniesi a figure rosse, attivi tra il 520 e gli inizi del V sec. a.C., denominati “Pionieri” per l’approccio del tutto nuovo alla pittura vascolare, basato principalmente su un’attenta osservazione della realtà e su un approfondito studio dell’anatomia umana. Saranno discussi gli aspetti più significativi della loro produzione, quali la consapevolezza di sé e del proprio ruolo e lo spirito di rivalità tra i diversi membri del gruppo, che li differenziano dagli altri pittori contemporanei. L’analisi delle forme e delle iconografie dei manufatti da loro prodotti contribuisce a chiarirne la funzione e lo scopo, anche in relazione ai diversi contesti di rinvenimento, in Grecia, principalmente sull’Acropoli ateniese, in Etruria, Magna Grecia e Sicilia.This paper aims to introduce a group of Athenian red-figure painters working since 520 B.C. until the early Fifth century B.C, who got the nick-name “Pioneers”, because of their new approach to vase-painting, especially focused on a careful observation of reality and a broaden study of human anatomy. The most preeminent aspects of their activity will be discussed, such as their self-consciousness, the awareness of their own role, and the spirit of competition among each other, which make them so far from other Late-Archaic painters. The study on shapes and iconography chosen by these painters will shed light on different purposes of their vessels, according to different contexts where they have been found, either in Greece, namely on the Athenian Acropolis, or in Etruria, Magna Graecia, and Sicily.

Innovazione e sperimentazione. Alcune considerazioni sui “Pionieri” e la prima ceramografia ateniese a figure rosse

L’articolo è incentrato su un gruppo di ceramografi ateniesi a figure rosse, attivi tra il 520 e gli inizi del V sec. a.C., denominati “Pionieri” per l’approccio del tutto nuovo alla pittura vascolare, basato principalmente su un’attenta osservazione della realtà e su un approfondito studio dell’anatomia umana. Saranno discussi gli aspetti più significativi della loro produzione, quali la consapevolezza di sé e del proprio ruolo e lo spirito di rivalità tra i diversi membri del gruppo, che li differenziano dagli altri pittori contemporanei. L’analisi delle forme e delle iconografie dei manufatti da loro prodotti contribuisce a chiarirne la funzione e lo scopo, anche in relazione ai diversi contesti di rinvenimento, in Grecia, principalmente sull’Acropoli ateniese, in Etruria, Magna Grecia e Sicilia.This paper aims to introduce a group of Athenian red-figure painters working since 520 B.C. until the early Fifth century B.C, who got the nick-name “Pioneers”, because of their new approach to vase-painting, especially focused on a careful observation of reality and a broaden study of human anatomy. The most preeminent aspects of their activity will be discussed, such as their self-consciousness, the awareness of their own role, and the spirit of competition among each other, which make them so far from other Late-Archaic painters. The study on shapes and iconography chosen by these painters will shed light on different purposes of their vessels, according to different contexts where they have been found, either in Greece, namely on the Athenian Acropolis, or in Etruria, Magna Graecia, and Sicily.

La mousiké téchne nel mito greco. ‘Sentire’ la musica attraverso le immagini

This paper aims to draw a synthesis-frame of the musical scenes found on Attic pottery, with particular reference to those representing a mythical subject. A careful selection of the iconographic evidence on the myths of Orpheus, Amphion, Marsyas and Thamyris, suitably integrated with the references from the literary sources, will allow to understand the role played by the mousiké téchne in specific contexts and its effects (prodigious, emotional and psycagogical ones) on the audience.L’intervento si propone di delineare un quadro di sintesi sulle scene musicali presenti sulla ceramica attica, con particolare riferimento a quelle aventi tema mitico. Un’accurata selezione di attestazioni iconografiche sui miti di Orfeo, Anfione, Marsia e Tamiri, opportunamente integrata con le testimonianze delle fonti letterarie, permetterà di comprendere il ruolo svolto dalla mousiké téchne in precisi contesti e gli effetti (prodigiosi, emozionali, psicagogici etc.) che essa di volta in volta ingenera negli ascoltatori

Five year retrospective study on Syphilis in the Sexual Transmitted Disease (STD) centre of the teaching hospital Umberto I in Rome

Objectives: A retrospective study describing syphilis epidemiological and clinical features in patients referring to an infectious diseases centre in Rome, Italy. Methods: Between January 2011 and December 2015 demographic, behavioral and clinical data were collected from all adult patients attending the Sexual Transmitted Disease Centre of the Teaching Hospital Umberto I in Rome. Results: Overall 723 patients, 495 males and 228 females, with syphilis infection diagnosis were included. Average age 39.6 ± 13.6 years (median 38) was higher in men than women (41.1 ± 13.6 vs. 36.3 ± 13.1; p<0.001). Patients were from Italy (486 or 67.2%), EU (90 or 12.4%), rest of Europe (38 or 5.3 %), Americas (46 or 6.4%), Africa (36 or 5.0%) and Asia (27 or 3.7%). One-hundred-twenty-three (17.0%) presented primary syphilis, 43 (5.9%) secondary syphilis, 8 (1.1%) tertiary syphilis, 246 (34.0%) serological syphilis, 80 (11.1%) preceding syphilis, 56 (7.7%) gravidic syphilis and 167 (23.1%) came to the STD to control a preceding syphilis treatment. Fifty-six (24.6%) women were diagnosed with syphilis during their pregnancies. Among Chinese female patients, those pregnant represented 87.5%. There were 100 subjects (13.8%) simultaneously HIV+ and 623 (86.2%) HIV- patients. HIV co-infection affected more frequently men (RR 5.30; CI 2.62 – 10.72; p<0.001). In males HIV co-infection affected more frequently homosexuals (RR 11.72; CI 6.72 – 20.45; p<0.001). Overall HIV co-infection affected more frequently foreign patients, specially from the Americas (26.1%), Africa (25.7%) and Asia (22.2%). Conclusions: A serious problem of “gravidic syphilis” suggests the need for Public Health preventive action. Also an early diagnosis of both syphilis and HIV infection should be reinforced

Arianna, Medea e le altre. Astuzia al femminile e arte greca

Nel mondo del mito greco la definizione funzionale di un personaggio appare sempre intimamente connessa alla sua per-cezione etica e alla sua collocazione nel quadro sociale e culturale. È il caso di personaggi come Arianna, Medea o Circe, le cui azionisi proiettano sempre nel mondo femminile dell’oikos. Nella prima parte del contributo Marco Giuman analizza i modi attraverso iquali il concetto di mētis femminile sia adattato dai repertori dell’arte greca alle figure di eroine e come questo sia tradotto in sensoiconografico. La seconda parte dell’articolo, curata da Elisabetta Pala, consiste in un approfondimento della figura di Arianna, e piùprecisamente sui suoi strumenti di mētis per eccellenza: corona e gomitolo. Da un raffronto dei resoconti delle fonti letterarie e delletestimonianze iconografiche tra VII e V secolo a.C. si cerca di stabilire un’anteriorità cronologica tra i due oggetti, nonché le rispettivefunzioni e valenze simboliche.In the Greek mythical world the functional definition of a protagonist seems strictly connected with his ethical and culturalperception in the society. That is the case of Ariadne, Medea or Circe, whose actions are always linked to the feminine concept of oikos.In the first part of this work Marco Giuman analyses the ways through which the feminine idea of mētis is iconographically adapted byGreek artists to the mythical heroines. The second part of the paper, by Elisabetta Pala, deepens on Ariadne’s character, more preciselyon her own metis-tools: the crown and the thread. Comparing literary sources and iconography from VII to V century B.C. the authortries to establish which object comes earlier, as well as their respective functions and symbolic values

Publication of the International Union Against Cancer

Because of large intra-individual variation in hormone levels, few studies have investigated the relation of serum sex hormones to breast cancer (BC) in premenopausal women. We prospectively studied this relation, adjusting for timing of blood sampling within menstrual cycle. Premenopausal women (5,963), recruited to the Hormones and Diet in the Etiology of Breast Tumors (ORDET) cohort study, provided a blood sample in the 20 -24th day of their menstrual cycle. The hypothesis that breast cancer (BC) is related to ovarian function dates back over a century. 1 Epidemiological, in vitro and in vivo studies conducted in the second half of the last century made it clear that steroid sex hormones regulate cell proliferation and play a major role in promoting BC. 2,3 Several mechanistic hypotheses for the development of BC have been proposed, 2,4 but until recently, hormone measurements by epidemiological studies have failed to corroborate any of them. Over the last decade, however, several prospective cohort studies in postmenopausal women have shown that BC development is preceded by alterations in levels of circulating sex hormones. 5 High serum levels of free and total estradiol, total testosterone and other estrogens and androgens, as well as low serum levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), have been found to be implicated in the risk of BC. 5 Our own study also indicated that high serum levels of free testosterone are associated with the risk of BC. 6 These prospective investigations were carried out with the help of thousands of healthy women who provided blood samples for storage and future nested-in-the-cohort case-control analyses. Compared to case control studies in clinical settings, the strengths of prospective studies are that control subjects belong to the same cohort that generates the incident disease cases and that blood is collected before the diagnosis of cancer thereby excluding abnormal values that may be due to overt illness. Hormone measurements in premenopausal women are difficult to interpret because serum levels change with the menstrual cycle and because cycle length varies inter-and intra-individually. Only a few prospective investigations have addressed the role of sex hormone levels in BC before the menopause; 7-10 all considered small numbers of case women and did not produce clear results. The endocrine basis of BC in premenopause is therefore the subject of several disparate hypotheses. These include the hypothesis of Grattarola, advanced in the 1960s, 11-12 that hyperandrogenism with luteal inadequacy plays a role in the induction of BC, and of Henderson et al. The present prospective study was designed to investigate whether luteal inadequacy and hyperandrogenism increase the risk of BC in premenopausal women. We collected blood samples from premenopausal women participating in the study on Hormones and Diet in the Etiology of Breast Tumors (ORDET). 6,14 Samples were taken between the 20th and 24th day of the cycle (theoretically during the mid luteal phase). The first day of menstrual bleeding subsequent to sampling was also recorded to provide an additional data point for correctly locating the sampling day within the cycle. In these women, we analyzed the relationship between BC and serum levels of the androgens dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), total testosterone, free testosterone, androstenedione and androstanediol-glucoronide (Adiol-G), and also progesterone, 17-OH-progesterone, SHBG, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Estradiol was not considered in the present analysis because of its extraordinary intra-individual variation in premenopausal women

Metadynamics for perspective drug design: Computationally driven synthesis of new protein-protein interaction inhibitors targeting the EphA2 receptor

Metadynamics (META-D) is emerging as a powerful method for the computation of the multidimensional freeenergy surface (FES) describing the protein-ligand binding process. Herein, the FES of unbinding of the antagonist N-(3α-hydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oyl)-L-β-homotryptophan (UniPR129) from its EphA2 receptor was reconstructed by META-D simulations. The characterization of the free-energy minima identified on this FES proposes a binding mode fully consistent with previously reported and new structure-activity relationship data. To validate this binding mode, new N-(3α-hydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oyl)-L-β-homotryptophan derivatives were designed, synthesized, and tested for their ability to displace ephrin-A1 from the EphA2 receptor. Among them, two antagonists, namely compounds 21 and 22, displayed high affinity versus the EphA2 receptor and resulted endowed with better physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties than the parent compound. These findings highlight the importance of free-energy calculations in drug design, confirming that META-D simulations can be used to successfully design novel bioactive compounds

Genetic loci linked to Type 1 Diabetes and Multiple Sclerosis families in Sardinia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Mediterranean island of Sardinia has a strikingly high incidence of the autoimmune disorders Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Furthermore, the two diseases tend to be co-inherited in the same individuals and in the same families. These observations suggest that some unknown autoimmunity variant with relevant effect size could be fairly common in this founder population and could be detected using linkage analysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To search for T1D and MS loci as well as any that predispose to both diseases, we performed a whole genome linkage scan, sequentially genotyping 593 microsatellite marker loci in 954 individuals distributed in 175 Sardinian families. In total, 413 patients were studied; 285 with T1D, 116 with MS and 12 with both disorders. Model-free linkage analysis was performed on the genotyped samples using the Kong and Cox logarithm of odds (LOD) score statistic.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In T1D, aside from the HLA locus, we found four regions showing a lod-score ≥1; 1p31.1, 6q26, 10q21.2 and 22q11.22. In MS we found three regions showing a lod-score ≥1; 1q42.2, 18p11.21 and 20p12.3. In the combined T1D-MS scan for shared autoimmunity loci, four regions showed a LOD >1, including 6q26, 10q21.2, 20p12.3 and 22q11.22. When we typed more markers in these intervals we obtained suggestive evidence of linkage in the T1D scan at 10q21.2 (LOD = 2.1), in the MS scan at 1q42.2 (LOD = 2.5) and at 18p11.22 (LOD = 2.6). When all T1D and MS families were analysed jointly we obtained suggestive evidence in two regions: at 10q21.1 (LOD score = 2.3) and at 20p12.3 (LOD score = 2.5).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This suggestive evidence of linkage with T1D, MS and both diseases indicates critical chromosome intervals to be followed up in downstream association studies.</p

Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein deficiency perturbs the homeostasis of B-cell compartment in humans

Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp) regulates the cytoskeleton in hematopoietic cells and mutations in its gene cause the Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS), a primary immunodeficiency with microthrombocytopenia, eczema and a higher susceptibility to develop tumors. Autoimmune manifestations, frequently observed in WAS patients, are associated with an increased risk of mortality and still represent an unsolved aspect of the disease. B cells play a crucial role both in immune competence and self-tolerance and defects in their development and function result in immunodeficiency and/or autoimmunity. We performed a phenotypical and molecular analysis of central and peripheral B-cell compartments in WAS pediatric patients. We found a decreased proportion of immature B cells in the bone marrow correlating with an increased presence of transitional B cells in the periphery. These results could be explained by the defective migratory response of WAS B cells to SDF-1α, essential for the retention of immature B cells in the BM. In the periphery, we observed an unusual expansion of CD21low B-cell population and increased plasma BAFF levels that may contribute to the high susceptibility to develop autoimmune manifestations in WAS patients. WAS memory B cells were characterized by a reduced in vivo proliferation, decreased somatic hypermutation and preferential usage of IGHV4-34, an immunoglobulin gene commonly found in autoreactive B cells. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that WASp-deficiency perturbs B-cell homeostasis thus adding a new layer of