IL GRUPPO SCULTOREO DEI FRATELLI DI CATANIA (CLAUD. CARM. MIN. 17). CARATTERISTICHE DELL’EKPHRASIS E ARTICOLAZIONE DEL CARME

Abstract

This article analyzes the ekphrastic procedure and overall organization of Claudian’s poem on the sculptural group of the brothers of Catania, a work that displays epigrammatic features without being an epigram. Pietas and references to Aeneas are elements common to both the descriptive and the laudatory sections of the poem. The nature of the poet’s description of the sculpture also illustrates the complex emotions of the two brothers in a way that the sculpture itself cannot. The relationship between the text and the work of art is thus resolved in favor of the former.