The Unforgettable Fire: Medea's Dreams in POxy 4712

N/

Sognando la Crociata. Un'ode saffica di Giano Làskaris su Carlo VIII

L’ode saffica greca di cui si offre qui la princeps, conservata anonima nell’Ambr. D 450 inf., è uno dei frutti piú notevoli della versificazione uma- nistica greca. Nel descrivere l’armata internazionale di un re Carlo e nel profetizzare la sua iniziativa di liberazione della Grecia, questo testo si col- loca a pieno titolo nel quadro della letteratura sulla Crociata antiturca. Per la sua raffinatezza linguistica e letteraria e per il tema di cui tratta, esso dev’essere opera di Giano Làskaris. Il re Carlo è dunque Carlo VIII e l’ode va collocata in quel ristretto torno di tempo (tra la fine 1494 e l’inizio del 1495) in cui sembrava che egli fosse determinato a salpare per l’Oriente – un disegno che lo stesso Làskaris caldeggiò presso di lui all’indomani della sua entrata in Firenze. Se il destinatario immediato della poesia è un tale Ni- candro (probabilmente il forlivese Fausto Andrelini, cantore ufficiale dell’epopea di Carlo VIII), è chiaro che l’autore affida a questi dottissimi versi un sincero auspicio per l’iniziativa del re francese.This is the editio princeps of a Sapphic ode preserved anonymously in ms. Ambr. D 450 inf.: one of the most remarkable products of humanist Greek versification, it describes the international army of a king Charles, which is going to free Greece from the Turkish domination. This text, which stands out in the frame of the 15th-century literature on the Crusade, due to its verbal and stylistic refinement must be attributed to Ianos Laskaris, king Charles being the French ruler Charles VIII, and the ode being written in the short span of time (end 1494 - beginning 1495) when it looked as if the latter were going to sail to the East - a plan Laskaris himself favoured soon after he entered Florence with his troops. While the direct addressee of the ode is a certain Nicander (perhaps the Forlivese author Fausto Andrelini, the official court poet of Charles VIII), this extremely learned ode represents a sincere tribute to the hopes many Greeks nourished in Charles VIII's political and military activity, and thus an invaluable historical and literary document of its time

Inimitable sources: Canonical texts and rhetorical theory in the Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew traditions

This paper offers an overview of the development of rhetorical studies in four different textual cultures (ancient and medieval Greek, ancient and medieval Latin, Arabic, and Hebrew), and some comparative thoughts on the ways in which these scholarly approaches arise chiefly from the perusal of a single foundational text (Homer, the Bible, the Qur'an). Some unexpected similarities and some striking synchronisms emerge from the analysis, along with obvious differences deriving from the different nature and status of the "inimitable sources" considered

Certissima Signa. A Venice Conference on Greek and Latin Astronomical Texts

The observation of the stars has never just been a matter of "science", but has constantly interacted with other domains, such as philosophy, literature, medicine, religion, history and magic. Consequently, the history of astronomical writings involves very diverse skills, and therefore calls for a cooperation between scholars. The present book represents such a shared attempt to investigate ancient, medieval and Renaissance astronomical texts, with a special focus on their transmission in manuscripts and prints, the relationship between texts and images, and the Nachleben of the Greco-Latin tradition in later Western culture

Knocking on Charon's Door: Andrea Dazzi's Epigram for Julius II, and the "Iulius exclusus"

Knocking on Charon's Door. Andrea Dazzi's Epigram for Julius II, and the Iulius exclususA Greek epigram by Andrea Dazzi on the death of Pope Julius II looks like a satire in the fashion of Lucian, Aristophanes, and the Greek Anthology: the wording of this text brings to mind not only Pontano's Charon and, more specifically, some popular polemical texts against Julius, but also Erasmus of Rotterdam's dialogue Iulius exclusus e coelis, with which it shares some startling similarities

On Aldus' Scriptores Astronomici (1499)

The Scriptores astronomici veteres were published by Aldus Manutius in Venice 1499. This book represents the most ambitious humanist attempt to reconstruct ancient astronomical wisdom by presenting the original texts of ancient authors. As such, the volume raises several questions. What is the rationale of Aldus’ selection? What do we know about his manuscript sources and the editorial process? What is the history of the incunable's remarkable illustrations (most notably those in Firmicus’ books 2 and 6, and in Germanicus’ Aratea)? How does this edition fit into one of the most difficult periods of Aldus’ Venetian enterprise? This paper attempts to tackle some of these issues