Abstract
Kleidemos of Athens wrote, perhaps after 378/7, a Protogonia (or Atthis),
extending from mythical age up to 415 at least (§ 1-2). Several of the 27
sure fragments have been preserved by late lexicographers or erudites,
but approximately half of them are quoted by four 2nd century authors
(Harpocration, Athenaeus, Pausanias, Plutarch): it is disputed whether
any of those four scholars directly read Kleidemos’ original text; in my
opinion, at least Plutarchs probably did (§ 3). In any case, the main
debate about Kleidemos concerns political tendency: Jacoby and many
other scholars perceive a democratic bias in the preserved fragments,
whereas Harding and others oppose this interpretation. In effect a careful
reading of the historical fragments (mainly F 17-18 about Theseus; F
15 about Peisistratus; F 7-8 about Kleisthenes; F 21 about Themistokles;
F 22 about the battle of Plataea; F 10 about an omen against the departure
of the Sicilian expedition) suggests a democratic bias affecting
strictly historical passages, as well as a democratic interpretation of
events pertaining to mythical ages. Unfortunately it is impossible to
determine whether this democratic attitude was a peculiar, extensive
character of Kleidemos’ Atthis, or only episodic in its manifestation; nor
it is easy to understand what kind of democracy Kleidemos intended to
praise with his work, although he apparently appreciates a moderate
conduct in foreign policy, perhaps in a Thrasybulian manner (§ 4-5).
Titolo tradotto del contributo | [Autom. eng. transl.] Clidemus of Athens |
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Lingua originale | Italian |
Titolo della pubblicazione ospite | Storie di Atene, storia dei Greci. Studi e ricerche di attidografia |
Editor | Cinzia Bearzot, Franca Landucci |
Pagine | 129-179 |
Numero di pagine | 51 |
Stato di pubblicazione | Pubblicato - 2010 |
Keywords
- Clidemo
- attidografia
- frammenti
- orientamento politico
- storiografia frammentaria
- tendenza politica