A distinctive feature of Argonautica’s narrative is the vivid depiction of emotions and feelings. Indeed, Apollonius Rhodius reports psychological processes with great objectivity, ex-plaining and precisely narrating their physical embodiment. In this paper, I explore Apollonius’ concept of the body’s resonance with emotion, with particular attention to how this is expressed through the gaze. The analysis delves into the significance of “looking downward” and “looking from below”. The first part of this study presents an overview of references to the gaze in the poem, followed by an analysis of two specific verbal creations (κατηφιάω and ὑπόφραζομαι) which allow for a deeper exploration of the semantic and literary meaning of the act of looking downward and from below.
Parlare e tacere con gli occhi: le emozioni attraverso lo sguardo nelle Argonautiche di Apollonio Rodio
Maria Ortori
2025
Abstract
A distinctive feature of Argonautica’s narrative is the vivid depiction of emotions and feelings. Indeed, Apollonius Rhodius reports psychological processes with great objectivity, ex-plaining and precisely narrating their physical embodiment. In this paper, I explore Apollonius’ concept of the body’s resonance with emotion, with particular attention to how this is expressed through the gaze. The analysis delves into the significance of “looking downward” and “looking from below”. The first part of this study presents an overview of references to the gaze in the poem, followed by an analysis of two specific verbal creations (κατηφιάω and ὑπόφραζομαι) which allow for a deeper exploration of the semantic and literary meaning of the act of looking downward and from below.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
