italian-studies: Scholarly discussions in any field of Italian studies

Aeneid Six and its Cultural Reception

The Villa Vergiliana in Cumae, Italy

June XXX 2013

Outside of the Bible, no text has had as profound an impact on Western
Culture as the Aeneid, and within the Aeneid, no book has been as
influential as Aeneid Six. Ovid was perceptive enough to recognize its
profound novelty, when his Sibyl refers to Vergil’s underworld as
novissma regna mundi (Met. 14.111). By the time of Servius the
novissima regna had been arranged according various intellectual
disciplines such at historia, philosophia, and theology with numerous
scholiasts commenting on the many cruces posed by the text. The
novelty and intellectual expansiveness of the Book allowed the text to
have a number of reincarnations and afterlives. As Aeneas moves
through the underworld Vergil constructs a literary space that has
spawned countless literary and artistic responses. The ecphrastic
program of the journey offered to later generations a storehouse of
images, which could be articulated in painting, relief and literature.
The philosophical and theological incorporation of Orphism,
Pythagoreanism, Platonism, and Stoicism raises important
considerations about the ontology of the soul and the poetics of
eschatology, which could be harnessed by Christian Theologians for
their own ends. The blurring of genres in Aeneid Six—of Epic, Tragedy,
Comedy, Ethnography—along with the movement from fabula to historia
during Aeneas’ journey inaugurated a new poetic aesthetic. It changed
how cultures evaluated and understood poetic inspiration. Its ambition
and scope changed what literature was and what it would become. Vergil
responds to the entirety of Greek and Roman literary and intellectual
achievement as he circumscribes it within the domain of the Aeneid and
in so doing he provides a roadmap for later artists, poets and
thinkers to achieve similar ends, but for different purposes. It is
not an overstatement to suggest that Western Culture and significant
aspects of its development hinge and pivot along the literary,
religious, and philosophical lines of Aeneid Six.

The central problem of the text is how do researches confront the
scale of this work and its various iterations? It is a humble truth to
recognize that Aeneid Six as an act of cultural reception is beyond
the knowledge and scholarly skill of a single individual. Its
reception necessitates scholarly conversation and investigation in an
interdisciplinary and international context. From this perspective
Aeneid Six is a perfect test case for theoretical and practical
applications of reception, and it allows scholars to think about the
underlying causes for the rise of reception studies over the last two
decades. It is the primary aim of the conference to come to a new
understanding of reception as a process of continuity and change from
the Classical era to the present. How does conceiving of Aeneid Six as
a product of reception as well as a catalyst for other receptions
illuminate receptions studies? How does Vergil channel the vast
complex of prior literature, philosophy and religion into his poem and
how does this contribute to the meaning of the Aeneid? Does Vergil
create a coherent eschatology or does the polyphony of traditions
result in contradictory stances? How do later thinkers and artists
respond to Vergil’s artistic vision” How and why was Aeneid Six
established as a central text for reception, and just as importantly
why has it been displaced within the last few generations?

Under the auspices of the Vergilian Society scholars and students are
invited to submit abstracts of 300-500 words on Aeneid Six and its
reception. In particular, abstracts on following issues will be
especially welcome:

*The reception of prior Greco-Roman art and thought.
*The meaning of Aeneid Six within Vergil’s poetic output and its
immediate impact on Roman literature and culture.
*Studies on the scholastic tradition from Servius to Norden.
*The reception of Aeneid Six from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern period.
*Papers on the place of Aeneid Six in religious, philosophical and
intellectual history.
*Analyses of Aeneid Six in light of archaeological findings, material
culture and art history.
*Discussions on the theoretical underpinnings which inform reception studies.

Papers should aim to be no more than 30 minutes in length. Abstracts
should be submitted no later than November 15st 2012. Notification of
acceptance will follow soon after. Please send abstracts as a PdF
attachment to [log in to unmask]

Eneide, Libro VI e la sua Ricezione
Villa Vergiliana a Cuma, Italia
30 giugno, 2013

Ad eccezione della Bibbia, nessun testo ha avuto un impatto tanto
profondo sulla cultura occidentale quanto l’Eneide, ed all’interno
dell’Eneide, nessun libro è mai stato influente quanto il Libro VI. Fu
Ovidio il primo lettore a rendersi conto della novità di questo testo,
quando la sua Sibilla si riferisce all’oltretomba virgiliano come
“novissma regna mundi” (Met. 14.111). Ai tempi di Servio, i “novissima
regna” erano già organizzati a seconda di vari campi del sapere come
la storia, la filosofia e la teologia, mentre nel frattempo numerosi
scoliasti si impegnavano a risolvere molte delle cruces interpretative
poste dal testo virgiliano. La novità e i riferimenti intellettuali
del Libro VI hanno consentito a questo testo di avere un gran numero
di reincarnazioni e riscoperte, ispirando non solo grandi opere
letterarie, ma anche la pittura, il bassorilievo e la scultura assieme
alla filosofia. Il Libro VI, tuttavia, continua a porsi come uno dei
casi più interessanti di ricezione e trasformazione di una tradizione
letteraria e intellettuale sviluppata in Grecia e a Roma; Virgilio
stesso, infatti, intendeva rispondere alla cultura greca e romana
fornendone una sintesi nel testo dell’Eneide, senza dimenticare
l’immediato successo del Libro VI presso Ovidio, Lucano, Seneca e
Stazio. Non è esagerato affermare che la cultura occidentale e la sua
storia dipendono e si muovono attorno alle componenti letterarie,
religiose e filosofiche del Libro VI dell’Eneide.

Inoltre, il Libro VI dell’Eneide è al centro delle numerose forze e
tensioni che caratterizzano il mondo delle discipline umanistiche
mentre università e college stanno sperimentando un più sentito
bisogno di cooperazione e ricerca interdisciplinare. Che la ricezione
del Libro VI dell’Eneide sia una tematica che travalica le conoscenze
e competenze di un singolo individuo è una constatazione che deve
essere al centro di una discussione attraverso le discipline. In
questo senso, il testo di Virgililo permette di riflettere sulla
storia e le prospettive degli studi sulla ricezione di testi antichi
emersi negli ultimi vent’anni.

Sotto gli auspici della Vergilian Society, studiosi e studenti sono
cordialmente invitati ad inviare un abstract di 300-500 parole sul
Libro VI dell’Eneide e sulla sua ricezione. In particolare, saranno
presi in considerazione interventi su alcuni di questi argomenti:
• La rielaborazione di fonti Greco-Romane precedenti all’Eneide.
• Il significato del Libro VI all’interno del corpus virgiliano e il
suo impatto sulla cultura e letteratura di Roma antica.
• La storia dell’esegesi da Servio a Norden.
• La ricezione del Libro VI dalla tarda antichità al Rinascimento.
• Il ruolo del Libro sesto nella storia della filosofia e degli intellettuali.
• Analisi del Libro VI alla luce di scoperte archeologiche, cultura
materiale e storia dell’arte.
• Discussioni suo fondamenti teorici degli studi sulla ricezione.


Gli interventi devono contenersi a trenta minuti di durata. Gli
abstract devono essere inviati entro il 15 novembre, e l’accettazione
sarà comunicata subito dopo. Si prega  di inviare gli abstract in
allegato email a  [log in to unmask]

-- 
Matteo Soranzo
McGill University
Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Assistant Professor
Tel. 5143982833

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