Aitia (Jan 2020)
Autour de la Vache de Myron : de l’éloge de l’opus nobile à la réflexion sur les genres et les sujets en poésie
Abstract
This article studies the possible meaning of Posidippus’ praise of Myron's Cow, a poem which occupies a central position in the andriantopoiika (epigrams on bronze statues) of the Macedonian poet. Even if Myron’s original represented a cow destinated for sacrifice, this animal statue seems to have been associated (from an unknown date on) with the idea of peace and agricultural or pastoral activities that peace favors; in the logic of Posidippus’ collection, the statue might also have been valued because of its subject, which belongs to the bucolic world, and may have been felt to contrast with the representations of Homeric heroes that the same bronze artist created. It is argued that the humble character or bucolic dimension that some Hellenistic poets perceived in Myron's masterpiece may account for the exceptional fame of this sculpture in later poetry.
