La Troiae Halosis: l’ecfrasi del maestro e del poeta (Sat. 89, vv. 1-65)

Abstract

The article aims to explore the ekphrastic features of the Petronian Troiae Halosis, considering some passages especially from Aelius Theon’s Progymnasmata. A narratological purpose is thus suggested for the coexistence of diegetic and ekphrastic elements in the poem. The investigation relies on a substantial re-evaluation of the Troiae Halosis’s literary quality and, consequently, of Eumolpo's poetic skills, following the path already set by Collignon (1882) e Stubbe (1933).