La suggestione del doppio. Sinesio di Cirene e il fantomatico Evagrio

Abstract

This article deals with a legend reported by the Byzantine monk John Moschus (6th-7th century) in The Spiritual Meadow. It features the Christian bishop Synesius of Cyrene and a pagan philosopher called Evagrius. By comparing this text with Synesius’ authentic biography – as it emerges from his own letters and works –, the author tries to seize the origin of the legend. As a conclusion, he argues that it was probably composed in order to conciliate some apparently conflicting features of the personality of Synesius – who was simultaneously a pagan Neoplatonic philosopher and a Christian bishop – at a time when such a complexity was no longer understood and accepted.

Keywords

• synesius of cyrene
• john moschus
• dreams