IL MITO DI DIOMEDE NEL PICENO

Abstract

I. In the area of the Adriatic sea there are numerous literary and archaeological attestations of the myth of the hero Diomedes, which suggest a significance function for the hero within this precise and defined geographical area. Modern studies have thoroughly investigated the nature of the Diomedean myth within the Adriatic context and have permitted to outline firm points in the saga of the hero, with particular reference to places and events associated with the western Adriatic coast.
II. To the rich and complex corpus of attestations concerning the fortune of the Diomedan myth in the Adriatic area we must add the problematic testimony of Stephanus Byzantinus, provided us in the lemma ᾽Άτρία, according to which Atria in the Picenum would be a Diomedan foundation. This information has been compared to another lemma of Stephanus Byzantinus, ᾽Άδρία, and, given the success of the hero in the area of the Timavus and of Spina (another Diomedan foundation), it is usually believed to be the lexocographer's error that attributed to Atria a characteristic that originally appertained to Adria. Nevertheless, the analysis of the literary source on the one hand indicates the difficulty to fit the figure of Diomedes into the mythical heritage of Adria, on the other hand, it seems to suggest the correctness of the indications provided to us by Stephanus Byzantinus, restoring to Atria in the Picenum its identity as a Diomedan foundation.