Greek Philology – Plutarch’ Life of Dion (Ordinario)
Prerequisiti
Knowledge of ancient Greek and attendance of the propaedeutic classes to the course of Greek Literature are required. The course is aimed at students of the ordinary course and is open to post-graduate students to acquire the hours of attendance.
Programma
For Plutarch, the example of Dion of Syracuse - as well as that of Brutus, Dion's Roman counterpart - shows the importance of philosophical teaching - and in particular of Platonic philosophy - for the formation of the political man. Yet, Dion was unable to complete his plan to reform Syracuse: indeed, he lost his life in the political struggles following the expulsion of Dionysius II. What causes this apparent contradiction? What did Dion really represent for Plutarch? Only an analytical reading of the Life of Dion will help us to answer to these questions (assuming this is possible). In particular, also thanks to the parallel traditions of the Platonic letters, of Diodorus Siculus and of Cornelius Nepos, it will be necessary to discover the sources behind the Life of Dion and understand the way in which Plutarch used them. Furthermore, it will be necessary to keep in mind Plutarch's personal position regarding the difficult relationship between intellectuals and power, between theory and praxis.
Classes will be held between November and December and between February and March. The seminars will be held between May and June. On this occasion the students will have to present an exposition of about an hour (with subsequent discussion), consisting mostly in the analysis of a passage from the Life of Dion and its problems. The topics of the reports and the timetable will be defined at the end of the classes. One week before the seminar, students must send the teacher a document containing the texts (with translation) that they will use in order to carry out the analysis, along with the list of the consulted bibliography.
Obiettivi formativi
Students will deal with problems of Quellenforschung, becoming aware of the possibilities and the limits of source criticism. They will also develop familiarity with the manuscript tradition of Plutarch's Parallel Lives and with the philological practice of the examinatio, that is with the systematic discussion of the genuineness of the transmitted text.
Riferimenti bibliografici
Selected bibliography (other references will be provided in class):
Berve, H., Dion, Wiesbaden 1957 (= Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz, Geistes- und sozialwissenschaftliche Klasse, n. 10, 1956, pp. 740-881)
Bonazzi, M., Plutarco, l’Academia e la politica, in P. Volpe Cacciatore, F. Ferrari (ed.), Plutarco e la cultura della sua età, Napoli 2007, 267-280.de Blois, Political Concepts in Plutarch’s «Dion» and «Timoleon», «AncSoc» 28, 1997, 209-224.
De Vido, S., Dione di Siracusa, un cattivo allievo, «Mediterraneo antico. Economie, società, culture» XX.1-2, 2017, pp. 103-122.
Dreher, M., Die syrakusanische Verfassung in Plutarchs Biographien über Dion und Timoleon, in Teoria e prassi politica nelle opere di Plutarco: atti del convegno plutarcheo (Certosa di Pontignano, 7-9 giugno 1993), pp. 135-146.
Dreher, M., Scardigli, B., et alii (a cura di), Plutarco. Dione e Bruto. Vite parallele, Milano 2000 (e successive ristampe).
Enrico, M., Tiranni e filosofi plutarchei a confronto. Potere e sapienza nella Vita di Dione, «Quaderni di Storia» 87.1 (2018), 147-179.
Flacelière, R.-Chambry, E., Plutarcque. Vies, t. XIV, Dion-Brutus, Paris 1978.
Muccioli, F., Dionisio II. Storia e tradizione letteraria, Bologna 1999.
Muccioli, F., I livelli della politica in Platone secondo Plutarco, in Teoria e prassi politica nelle opere di Plutarco: atti del convegno plutarcheo (Certosa di Pontignano, 7-9 giugno 1993), pp. 275-285.
Muccioli, F., Osservazioni sull’uso di Timonide nella Vita di Dione di Plutarco, «AncSoc», 21, 1990, pp. 167-187.
Pelling, Chr., Political Philosophy, in M. Beck (ed.), A Companion to Plutarch, Malden-Oxford 2014, 149-162.
Porter, W.H., Plutarch. Life of Dion, Dublin 1952 (rist. Anast. New York 1979).
Sanders, L.J., The Legend of Dion, Toronto 2008.
Voit, L., Zur Dion-Vita, Historia 3 (1954-55), pp. 171-193.
Westlake, H.D., Dion: A Study in Liberation, Durham Un. Journal n.s. 7 (1945-1946), pp. 37-44 (= Westlake, H.D., Essays on Greek Historians and Greek History, New York, 1969, pp. 251-264).
Ziegler, K. (ed.), Plutarchi Vitae parallelae, vol. II, fasc. 1, Lipsiae 19642, editionem correctiorem cum addendis curavit H. Gärtner, Stutgardiae-Lipsiae 1993.