La morte di Pitagora e i culti delle Muse e di Demetra. Mousiké ed escatologia nelle comunità pitagoriche di Magna Grecia

L’articolo propone un’analisi delle testimonianze relative alla connessione tra la morte di Pitagora e i culti delle Muse e di Demetra (la cui fonte sembra essere Timeo, FGrHist 566 F 131) alla luce della simbologia escatologica della musica e dei riti misterici, e del ruolo della memoria in ambito pitagorico. Tali testimonianze sembrano presupporre concezioni relative ai Misteri e alla katabasis, ambiti familiari non solo al culto di Demetra, ma anche a quello delle Muse, e rinviano al ruolo delle donne nei sodalizi Pitagorici. Alla luce delle rivolte antipitagoriche di metà V sec. a.C., inoltre, il culto di Demetra appare funzionale alla difesa e al consolidamento del ruolo politico dei Pitagorici a Crotone.This article aims at an analysis of the evidence regarding links between the death of Pythagoras and the cults of the Muses and Demeter (the oldest source is Timaeus, FGrHist 566 F 131), taking into account the eschatological symbolism of music and the Mistery rites, and the function of memory among the Pythagoreans. The evidence in question seems to presuppose notions pertaining to Mysteries and katabasis, that are familiar not only with the cult of Demeter, but also with that of the Muses, and makes reference to the role of women among the Pythagoreans. On the other hand, taking into account the anti-pythagorean riots of the mid-fifth century BC, the cult of Demeter seems to be aimed at defending and strengthening the political role of the Pythagoreans in Croton

Tra incantamento e phobos. Alcuni esempi sugli effetti dell'aulos nei dialoghi di Platone e nella catarsi tragica.

Il potere dell‟aulos e i suoi effetti sull‟animo erano così emblematici per i Greci da far loro trasformare lo strumento e le sue sonorità in una metafora di persuasione, come si riscontra in alcuni dialoghi di Platone. Da un altro punto di vista, però, l‟aulos fu anche uno strumento „perturbante‟, come appare ad esempio nella tragedia. In tale contesto esso sembra operare sulle paure (phobos) e le insicurezze dei personaggi tragici, e talora addirittura condurre agli sviluppi conclusivi della performance teatrale. Per quel che riguarda invece l'uditorio in teatro, l‟aulos può aver giocato un ruolo nello sviluppo della catarsi, in quanto gli spettatori potevano essere in grado di collegare i suoni da esso prodotti con le proprie esperienze di vita quotidiana, specie quelle dei riti catartici dionisiaci. Per mezzo della catarsi e grazie alle sue implicazioni etiche, la tragedia – in virtù del suo contesto e del suo ruolo interamente pubblici – pare quindi aver avuto un effetto più significativamente „politico‟ sulle ansie del vastissimo uditorio teatrale.The power of the aulos and its effects on the soul were so emblematic for the Greeks, that they also made this instrument and its sounds into a metaphor of persuasion, as it happens for instance in some Platonic dialogues. On the other side, the aulos was also a „perturbing‟ instrument, as it appears for instance in tragedy. Indeed it seems to work on the fears (phobos) and insecurities of tragic characters, and leads sometimes to the conclusive developments of the theatrical performance. As far as the audience in the theatre is concerned, the aulos instead may have had a role in the development of catharsis, since the audience would be able to connect its sounds with experiences of everyday life, especially with the Dionysiac cathartic rites. By means of catharsis, and because of its ethical implications, tragedy – with its utterly public context and role – seems then to have performed a most meaningful „political‟ effect on the anxieties of the very large theatre audience

Gli Heraia di Olimpia e le donne di Elide. Riti di passaggio e inni tra Era e Dioniso

Gli agoni dedicati ad Era che si tenevano ad Olimpia ogni quattro anni (Paus. V, 16, 2-4), in cui erano previste competizioni atletiche e musicali femminili contrapposte e complementari a quelle maschili delle Olimpiadi, non solo illustrano alcune caratteristiche fondamentali del culto di Era, che rimanda alla sfera femminile delle nozze, ma rivelano anche interessanti aspetti del culto di Dioniso, divinità alla quale Era appare connessa da quella che W. Burkert ha definito una “strana intimità”. La presenza dei culti di Era e di Dioniso negli Heraia, i cui agoni si configuravano come fasi di riti di passaggio per le fanciulle che vi prendevano parte, ben rappresenta i reciproci condizionamenti di queste due divinità attraverso la contrapposizione del femminile al maschile, e in seguito nella loro reciproca integrazione, adombrata nell’immaginario bovino che caratterizzava i riti e rinviava alla sfera della fertilità. I riti femminili prevedevano infatti il richiamo all’immagine della vacca, strettamente connessa col culto e con l’immaginario di Era sin dalle sue più antiche attestazioni, e le gare di corsa erano seguite da un sacrificio di vacche alla dea. Nel corso degli Heraia, inoltre, le donne di Elide istituivano khoroi per Ippodamia, che aveva fondato gli agoni come ringraziamento ad Era per le sue nozze con Pelope, e per Physkoa, che si riteneva avesse introdotto il culto di Dioniso nella regione. Dioniso, in particolare, veniva invocato dalle donne di Elide affinché giungesse con “piede taurino” (τῷ βοέῳ ποδὶ δύων, Carm. Pop. fr. 25 (871) PMG = Plut. Quaest. Grec. 36, 299b), evocandone la fertilità, strettamente connessa col riferimento alle nozze del culto di Era. La presenza di performances musicali connesse sia col culto di Era, sia con quello di Dioniso, e il richiamo alla sfera della fertilità attraverso l’immaginario bovino, sembrano istituire un legame tra gli Heraia e gli Agrionia, connessi col mito delle Pretidi ed attestati ad Argo, ma presenti con lo stesso retroscena mitico e rituale anche in Beozia, dove si evocava il mito delle Miniadi. Le due versioni del mito delle Pretidi (Hes. frr. 37 e 131 M.-W.; Apollod. II, 2, 2), che fanno risalire la punizione delle fanciulle rispettivamente ad Era e a Dioniso, sembrano conciliarsi negli Agrionia argivi: Era veniva infatti evocata attraverso l’elemento bovino, che diveniva il retroscena di cerimonie di iniziazione femminili in cui si riprendevano i khoroi istituiti da Preto, padre delle fanciulle, in ringraziamento di Artemide, che aveva placato l’ira della dea (Bacchyl. XI, 112), ma anche nel motivo delle nozze, adombrate nella versione dionisiaca in base alla quale Melampo sposa una delle Pretidi. L’integrazione dei culti di Era e di Dioniso in queste due feste mostra quindi l’importante valenza rituale degli agoni che vi si svolgevano, attraverso i quali la realtà del cambiamento e la nuova funzione sociale delle partecipanti trovavano una imprescindibile legittimazione comunitaria

Musical Remedies for Deadly Problems. Music Therapy in the Homeric Poems

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Biological Manipulation of Blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima Torr.) by Browsing with Goats

The purpose of this study was to provide data on responses of Angora goats and blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) to a biological manipulation program. Blackbrush utilization levels averaged 30, 16, and 6 percent (545, 367, and 147 kg p er hectare) for the heavily, moderately, and lightly browsed pastures, respectively; removal rates of 77, 38, and 19 percent (1164, 582, and 291 kg per hectare) were projected. Statistically significant differences in body weight loss (P=0.052) were noted for goats browsing in different replications. Goats lost an average of 14 and 19 percent of body weight in replications one and two, respectively. Differential weight loss app eared to be related to variable crude protein levels in blackbrush twigs. Small, but statistically significant differences were noted between replications for crude protein (P:0.002) and phosphorus (P=0.019) content in blackbrush twigs. Crude protein content averaged 4.9 and 4.4 percent for replications one and two, respectively; phosphorus content averaged 0.18 and 0.15 percent for replications one and two, respectively. No statistically significant differences in plant production were noted among stocking rates; this was primarily a result of the low utilization levels. Site (replications) affected plant response (P:0.135), and terminal branches produced more current season\u27s growth than did basal branches (P:0.162)

Some Morphological and Chemical Responses of Blackbrush (\u3cem\u3eColeogyne ramosissima\u3c/em\u3e) to Goat Browsing: Influences on Dietary Blackbrush Selection by Goats and Cattle

Domestic goats were used to modify the growth form of blackbrush, a spinescent shrub occurring in nearly monospecific stands on several million hectares of rangeland in the southwestern United States. The objective of this research was to evaluate goat browsing as a means of improving these rangelands for cattle. Winter goat browsing stimulated spring twig growth from basal and axillary buds which resulted in increased production. Twig production by heavily browsed plants (\u3e95 percent removal of current season\u27s twigs) was a function of precipitation, soil depth, branch location on the plant, and period of rest after browsing. As precipitation doubled, production increased by a factor of 1.9. Twig production by plants growing on deep soils (71 cm) was 1.9 times that by plants growing on shallow soils (39 cm). Older branches growing on the outer edges of blackbrush plants (terminal branches) produced 4.6 times more current season\u27s twigs than sprouts and young branches (basal branches) growing within the shrub canopy. Heavily browsed plants increased twig production by a factor of 3.6 relative to control plants, and production remained at this level, even after four consecutive years of browsing. Stocking intensities of 2.4 animal-unit-months·hectare-1 were required to achieve utilization levels of 80 percent in blackbrush pastures. Annual twig production declined with rest from browsing. However, plants which were browsed and subsequently rested for two years yielded an aggregate 1.6 times more available forage than plants which were browsed on a yearly basis. This was due to an accumulation of twigs ranging in age from one to three years. Browsing also improved the apparent nutritional quality of blackbrush twigs. Current season\u27s twigs contained more crude protein (6.5 versus 4.6 percent), phosphorus (0.10 versus 0.08 percent), and in vitro digestible dry matter (48 versus 38 percent) than older twigs. Current season\u27s twigs from basal branches contained more crude protein (6.1 versus 5.7 percent) and in vitro digestible dry matter (44 versus 41 percent) than those from terminal branches. The palatability of current season\u27s twigs to goats and cattle was lower, however, than that of older twigs, presumably due to their higher tannin levels. Within individual blackbrush plants, current season\u27s twigs from terminal branches were higher in tannins than those from basal branches. Rest from browsing resulted in decreased tannin levels due to a decrease in the proportion of current season\u27s to older twigs. Goats and cattle tended to prefer older twigs to current season\u27s twigs, and current season\u27s twigs from basal branches to those from terminal branches. The occurrence and allocation of tannins within blackbrush support hypotheses dealing with the elaboration and allocation of phyto-chemicals as defense mechanisms countering herbivory. Esophageally fistulated goats (does and kids) browsing in pastures where forage consisted primarily of current season\u27s twigs consumed diets with more crude protein, in vitro digestible dry matter, and tannins than goats browsing in pastures where forage consisted primarily of older twigs. They also lost less weight. Does initially consumed diets higher, but later consumed diets lower in crude protein than those consumed by kids. Kids consumed diets with more in vitro digestible dry matter, but lost more weight than does. No statistically significant differences in weight response were recorded for cattle browsing in pastures which were, and were not, previously browsed by goats. However, the average heifer in previously unbrowsed pastures consumed 1.9 times more protein supplement than her counterpart in previously browsed pastures