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Il volume presenta una ricostruzione della storia della Grecia nel V secolo (dal 478 al 404) nella prospettiva degli equilibri geopolitici. Dopo aver tratteggiato la situazione della Grecia fino alle guerre persiane, affronta il tema del bipolarismo Atene/Sparta, che garantì un relativo equilibrio alla Grecia tra 478 e 431, e segue lo sviluppo che da una situazione di “guerra fredda” portò al conflitto globale, la guerra del Peloponneso., This volume presents a reconstruction of the history of Greece in the fifth century (478 to 404) from the perspective of geopolitical balances. After sketching the situation of Greece up to the Persian Wars, it addresses the issue of the Athens/Sparta bipolarity, which ensured a relative balance for Greece between 478 and 431, and follows the development from a “cold war” situation to the global conflict, the Peloponnesian War.

L'articolo considera il racconto di Tucidide sulla peste di Atene del 430/29, cercando di individuare le tracce di cambiamenti di comportameno e di mentalità, The article considers Thucydides' account of the plague in Athens in 430/29, trying to identify traces of changes in behaviour and mentality

Il contributo presenta la storia degli studi di storia antica in Università Cattolica dalla sua fondazione.

Il contributo esamina i passi di Valerio Massimo su tiranni e legislatori, cercando di identificare la tradizione in cui si inseriscono e di individuare i criteri di selezione degli episodi, collocando gli iteressi che lasciano trasparire nel quadro della cultura di età augustea e tiberiana., This paper examines Valerius Maximus' passages on tyrants and legislators, trying to identify the tradition in which they are inserted and to understand the criteria for the selection of the episodes, placing the interests they reveal in the framework of the culture of the Augustan and Tiberian ages.

Il saggio, sulla base della storiografia sul tema, delinea i risvolti socio-culturali della diffusione della peste nell'Impero ottomano tra XVIII e XIX secolo. Le continue epidemie ebbero un grande influsso sulla percezione europea del mondo ottomano, definito per questo il "malato" dell'Europa., The essay, based on historiography on the topic, outlines the socio-cultural implications of the spread of the plague in the Ottoman Empire between the 18th and 19th centuries. The continuous epidemics had a great influence on the European perception of the Ottoman world, which was therefore defined as the "sick man" of Europe.

Il capitolo illustra la ricerca dell'equilibrio nella Grecia del IV secolo a.C.

The role of the economy in Athenian politics has been prominent since the second half of the fifth century BC. The consideration of the political and financial crises that affected Athens has made it possible to detect significant changes in the management of financial resources between the fifth and fourth centuries. We will try to demonstrate how, often, a state of emergency has led to change, even in the long term, transforming initially extraordinary institutions into indispensable means for maintaining the management of the economy. The establishment of extraordinary magistracies, the specialization of public offices, the complexity reached by the Athenian financial system are a non-negligible index.

The essay offers an overview of the literary texts dedicated to the plague published in Milan on the occasion of the two historic infections, that of the 1570s and that of 1630. Linked by the protagonism of the two Borromeo archbishops, San Carlo and Manzoni’s Federico, the two events inspired a real topos in the Lombard tradition. In particular, the attention is focused on the intervention of the poet Giuliano Goselini, author of a song on the contagion which stands out for its independence from the Carolinian model, and, for the Federico’s plague, on the drama of the friar Benedetto Cinquanta, an example of ‘spiritual tragedy’ worthy of attention.

This contribution traces the ways in which critical hygienic-sanitary situations have been dealt with in the People’s Republic of China and the political-ideological value attributed to their management. From this historical overview, it emerges that the instrument of mobilization has constituted a constant way of conducting sanitation work for the Beijing government, the legacy of which also seems to re-emerge in the policies aimed to containing the Covid-19 pandemic.

L’articolo esamina i criteri di selezione dei frammenti comici da parte di Plutarco, discutendone i contenuti: l’aspetto fisico di Pericle, la sua presunta intemperanza sessuale, il rapporto con Aspasia, l’assimilazione a Zeus (collegata con l’eloquenza, ma che nasconde un’accusa di tirannide), l’imperialismo democratico, l’inefficienza, le responsabilità nello scoppio della guerra del Peloponneso, la strategia seguita (che gli procurò accuse di viltà). La conclusione cui si perviene è che per Plutarco i comici sono quasi sempre uno strumento per documentare le critiche dell’opposizione a Pericle: sono, per così dire, il risvolto “nero” della biografia, che il biografo non accoglie (anzi talvolta ne prende apertamente le distanze), ma mette a disposizione dei lettori., The paper examines Plutarch's criteria for selecting the comic fragments, discussing their content: Pericles' physical appearance, his alleged sexual intemperance, his relationship with Aspasia, his assimilation to Zeus (linked to eloquence, but concealing an accusation of tyranny), democratic imperialism, inefficiency, responsibility for the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, and the strategy he followed (which brought him accusations of cowardice). The conclusion one comes to is that for Plutarch the comedians are almost always a tool for documenting the criticism of the opposition to Pericles: they are, so to speak, the 'black' side of the biography, which the biographer does not embrace (indeed sometimes openly distances himself from), but makes available to his readers.

Il volume raccoglie gli interventi tenuti nel corso della Summer School 202 della Scuola di Dottorato in Studi Umanistici - Tradizione e contemporaneità.

A study of plague representations related to the specific case of the two Milanese epidemics of 1577-79 and 1630-31

Il contributo considera il carattere del miele come cibo legato alla civilizzazione e all’uscita dallo stato ferino, come il grano e il vino; prende poi in esame le fonti relative all’esistenza di miele tossico; infine, mette in evidenza l’incongruenza tra l’idea di cibo divino e quella di cibo velenoso., The paper considers the character of honey as a food linked to civilisation and to leaving the feral state, like wheat and wine; it then examines the sources relating to the existence of toxic honey; finally, it highlights the inconsistency between the idea of divine food and that of poisonous food.

The chapter frames the history of classical Greece in a geopolitical perspective.

The chapter frames the history of archaic Greece in a geopolitical perspective.

The contribution examines the position of the metics in Athens from a legal and social point of view

Lydia, a region of ancient civilization, traditionally closely tied to the Greek world, was after the Persian conquest an important outpost of the relations between the Achaemenid empire and the Greeks. Sardis, the capital city of the Lydian kingdom and later of the satrapy of Lydia (Sparda, i.e. Sardis, for the Persians), was the most notable city of coastal Asia Minor. The satraps who succeeded one another in that seat pursued (on behalf of the Great King and often also autonomously) an intense policy of complex relations with the Greeks of Asia Minor and of mainland Greece. About one of these satraps, Pissuthnes (ante 440-15 B.C.), son of Hystaspes and probably a member of the royal family, the sources give us some sporadic pieces of information, which enable us, however, to reconstruct a coherent anti-Athenian policy, inserted in the context of the so-called Peace of Callias of 449 (in any way we want to interpret it).

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This paper provides some thoughts about 'crisis' and 'resilience' in the fourth century AD, with a focus on the usurpations, civil wars, and religious conflicts in the Roman empire

Two of the most representative diseases of the nineteenth century, cholera and pellagra, share a particular relationship with food. If for the first “urban” epidemic, food was considered as a means of treatment by a vacillating medical establishment, in the case of the second, the rural endemic par excellence, food was the cause of its classist expansion. The literary texts, considered here as sources, preserve precious testimonies on how nutrition has been considered in relation to diseases, precisely in the century of the birth of modern medical science, and has therefore found its own epistemological space in studies.

The prevalence of emotional over rational aspects in the decision-making process is for Thucydides a characteristic element of post-Periclean political degeneration. The people in the assembly become for the politician a mass of manoeuvre, whose negative feelings it may be useful to encourage. Given the role Alcibiades played in this transition from old to new politicians, this paper tries to identify, in the tradition concerning him, references to popular emotions in the assembly context: emotions of which Alcibiades was the object, but also an able fomenter. Since the essays in this section focus on the intertwining of individual emotions and collective passions, the paper does not neglect the references to individual emotions that are often at the basis of the initiatives of politicians, Alcibiades included.

This chapter shows how this speech, written for a democratic politician against Phormisius’ proposal to restrict the rights of citizenship to landowners, deals with various issues referring to the most recent past of Athens, recently emerging from the civil war: the continuity between the oligarchical experiences of 411 and 404, which is likely to recur for the third time (§ 1); the controversy against the amnesty and “forgetting” the evil suffered, exposing democracy to serious risks (§ 2); the presence of unreliable people, from the democratic point of view, in the so-called Peiraeus Party; the theme of soteria (§§ 6 and 8) and the tendency of the assembly to be deceived and to vote against its own interest (§ 3); the different behavior of oligarchs and democrats towards the civic body (§§ 3, 4–5); the greed for money of antidemocratic people (§ 5); allusions to the strategy of Pericles (§ 9), to a past, remote and recent, in which the Athenians fought for freedom and justice (§ 11), and to the case of the Argives and Mantineans, constantly anti-Spartan (§§ 7–8). All in all, Lysias tries to offer a reconstruction of the recent past in a democratic key, foreshadowing the risks that the democracy is still running.

Il contributo esamina le occorrenze degli epigrammi in Pausania e illustrra il metodo del Periegeta nel trattamento di questo tipo di fonte.

Il contributo prende in esame le diverse forme di reazione alla guerra civile messe in atto ad Atene nel 403: il superamento emotivo e politico della stasis, la rinuncia alla vendetta e l’amnistia (con le comprensibili resistenze), la ricostituzione della comunità sulla base di valori comuni, la riappropriazione di parole chiave della propaganda politica contemporanea (come homonia e soteria) in chiave democratica. Il successo di queste strategie è documentato dall’apprezzamento delle fonti non democratiche., The contribution examines the different forms of reaction to the civil war implemented in Athens in 403: the emotional and political overcoming of stasis, the renunciation of vengeance and amnesty (with understandable resistance), the reconstitution of the community on the basis of common values, and the re-appropriation of keywords of contemporary political propaganda (such as homonia and soteria) in a democratic key. The success of these strategies is documented by the appreciation of non-democratic sources.

The exploration of the mouth of the Indus led by Alexander the Great and his Admiral Nearchus in 325 B.C. has aroused great interest among scholars. Attempts have been made, with often contradictory results, to reconstruct the itineraries followed and to identify the sites remembered by the sources. Reconstruction has been made very difficult by changes in the landscape over time and, above all, by the absence of archaeological finds dating back to the time of Alexander. This paper reconsiders the information provided by the sources on the exploration of the lower course of the Indus by Alexander and Nearchus; then discusses possible identifications of the best preserved archaeological site in the area, that of Banbhore, with the places designated by ancient place names (Barbarikon, Barce, Daybul); finally, it poses the problem of the "port of Alexander" mentioned by Arrianus in the Indike.

Nelle molteplici forme storiche della metafisica la trascendenza assume diversi significati. Si analizza in particolare la distinzione introdotta da Heidegger a proposito della differenza del trascendente dal contingente e dall’immanente. La prima via approda a un senso forte di trascendenza, per cui l’essere non può coincidere con la totalità dell’ente. La seconda via prende le mosse dalle strutture della coscienza ed è l’itinerario proposto in generale dalla fenomenologia. Si considera poi l’evento originario della trascendenza come un’anticipazione di senso, che giunge a espressione nel linguaggio analogico e simbolico., In the multiple historical forms of metaphysics, transcendence takes on different meanings. In particular, the distinction introduced by Heidegger regarding the difference of the transcendent from the contingent and from the immanent is analysed. The first way leads to a strong sense of transcendence, for which being cannot coincide with the totality of beings. The second way starts from the structures of consciousness and is the itinerary proposed in general by phenomenology. The original event of transcendence is then considered as an anticipation of meaning, which reaches expression in analogical and symbolic language.

This paper shows the contribution given by Masnovo and Bontadini, the masters of Metaphysics in the Catholic University of Milan, for a rigorous formulation of the proof of the existence of God.

Il contributo presenta l'attività in ambito archeologico e numismatico svolata da Gian Guido Belloni (1919-1996) per la valorizzazione del patrimonio culturale della città di Miano fra numismatica e archeologia

Panoramica sugli studi di storia della Lombardia medievale condotti nel corso del secolo di vita dell’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore dai docenti che hanno insegnato discipline medievistiche nella Facoltà di Lettere e filosofia fino alla istituzione di una cattedra di ‘Storia della Lombardia medievale’, che viene posta in relazione alla valorizzazione degli studi di storia territoriale negli ultimi decenni.

A review of the most known members of the academic staff, in charge of Latin and classical philology in the UCSC from its beginnings to A.D. 2000, is offered: the products of their scientific research and their teaching activity are surveyed

Il saggio analizza il contributo scientifico di Aristide Calderini e di Maria Pia Rossignani negli studi su Milano romana

Questo saggio intende delineare il solido contributo offerto agli studi francescani da diversi studiosi attivi nel corso del XX secolo (e fino ai nostri giorni) soprattutto presso la Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia dell’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Di fondamentale importanza risulta l’impulso dato agli studi su Francesco d’Assisi e l’Ordine dei frati Minori dal fondatore dell’Università, il francescano fr. Agostino Gemelli, che fu anche Magnifico Rettore fino alla sua morte (15 luglio 1959) . Gemelli, oltre a essere l’autore di un fortunato libro: Il Francescanesimo, scelse anche collaboratori e docenti che potessero offrire un importante contributo per divulgare gli scritti e l’agiografia francescana tra i fedeli come pure nel mondo accademico., This essay aims to outline the solid contribution offered to Franciscan studies by various scholars active during the 20th century (and up to the present day) especially at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart. Particularly important is the impulse given to studies on Francis of Assisi and the Order of Friars Minor by the founder of the University, the Franciscan Brother Agostino Gemelli, who was also Magnificent Rector until his death (15 July 1959). Gemelli, as well as being the author of a successful book, Il Francescanesimo, also chose collaborators and lecturers who could be able to offer an important contribution to the dissemination of Franciscan writings and hagiography among the faithful as well as in the academic world.

The paper aims to examine the role of the Carthaginians in the work of Valerius Maximus: the analysis of the exempla externa related to them shows how they represent an anti-model, a vicious people from whose comparison Rome is valued in its moral, political, military and cultural aspects. The negativity of the Carthaginian example, which finds its highest expression in Hannibal, not only has the function of enhancing, by contrast, the positivity of the Romans’ attitudes, but also that of reducing the vicious and negative behaviors found within roman society, showing a greater presence of these vices in the Punic world. For this reason, within the work of Valerius Maximus, the negativity of the Carthaginian behavior, and of Hannibal in particular, is often exaggerated compared to previous sources, so that the contrast with the positive model of Rome is greater.

Il contributo esamina la testimonianza di Teofrasto su Alcibiade, costituita da tre frammenti dedicati alle caratteristiche dell’oratoria alcibiadea, all’accordo di Alcibiade con Feace in occasione dell’ostracismo di Iperbolo e al carattere eccezionale, ma anche imbarazzante, della personalità dell’Alcmeonide. I frammenti su Alcibiade attestano l’interesse di Teofrasto per la storia politica e istituzionale del V secolo e il fascino esercitato da questo controverso protagonista della vita politica ateniese., This paper examines Theophrastus' testimony on Alcibiades, consisting of three fragments devoted to the characteristics of Alcibiades' oratory, Alcibiades' agreement with Phaeax on the occasion of the ostracism of Hyperbolus, and the exceptional, yet embarrassing, character of his personality. The fragments on Alcibiades attest to Theophrastus' interest in the political and institutional history of the 5th century and the fascination exercised by this controversial protagonist of Athenian political life.

Questo manuale fornisce una panoramica della storiografia greca antica dalle origini agli storici greci di età romana imperiale. Completano il libro un primo capitolo introduttivo, che affronta questioni fondamentali come la nascita della storiografia, l'uso dei documenti, la figura dello storico nell’antichità, i sistemi di datazione e i problemi di metodo; un capitolo dedicato a memorialistica, biografia, letteratura geografica e cronografia; e un focus finale sull’operetta di Luciano di Samosata Come si deve scrivere la storia, l’unico trattato di questo genere ad essere giunto fino a noi. A corredo alcune mappe e tabelle cronologiche aiutano lo studente a orientarsi e ripercorrere le principali vicende della storia greca.

A foreword introduces the paper on Valerius Maximus and the complex Quellenforschung of his work, followed by the survey of the mentions of Macedonian rulers. The inquiry reveals that before Philip II and Alexander the Great, Valerius Maximus only knows Archelaos. Also, Philip II is cited only five times, and only twice he is the protagonist of the narrated stories. Alexander the Great, conversely, appears twenty-four times (nine as protagonist): after Hannibal, he is the most cited character among the so-called exterae gentes of Valerius’ work. Several scholars have analyzed Valerius’ approach to Alexander’s deeds. According to some scholars, Valerius negatively judged Alexander. According to others, however, his judgment was favourable. Since, among the nine episodes devoted to Alexander, six are favourable to the king and only three hostile, I argue that Valerius is not a hostile source to Alexander.

Short history of Greek studies in the Catholic University, from its origins to 2000.

La problématique concernant les destitutions et les abdications dans le monde grec est liée à la question de la légitimité et de l’exercice du pouvoir. La déposition du pouvoir est dans le monde grec un outil de contrôle normal de son exercice, appliqué à des magistrats civils et militaires. L’abdication était en revanche plus rare. Dans tous les cas, destitutions et abdications dérivent d’une conception du pouvoir jugé non pas comme provenant de la divinité, mais des détenteurs de la souveraineté.

Il contributo studia la fine della strategia di Alcibiade nel 407/6, interrogandosi sull'aspetto giuridico., This paper studies the end of Alcibiades' strategy in 407/6, questioning the legal aspect..

This paper examines the story of the Celtic attack on Delphi in 279 B.C. with particular attention to issues of historiographical nature and tries to define the tendency that characterize our tradition; it also takes into consideration the critical interventions between the author’s contributions at the turn of the 80s and 90s and today, re-proposing the substantial validity of the positions then expressed.

L'articolo propone alcuni esempi di populismo antico, istituendo un confronto con esperienze recenti.

This paper considers different categories of traveling intellectuals (logographers, rhetoricians, sophists and philosophers): “qualified migrants” who abandon, more or less stably, their own city and their own environment, due to educational or professional motives, and move around the world of the classical age which is culturally headed by Athens. The purpose is to question about their expectations (rich earnings, qualified work, an adequate public, the recognition of cultural authority; rarely real integration) and about the opportunities they encountered.

Sul tema della continuazione della guerra contro la Persia dopo il 478, Plutarco costituisce una fonte molto dettagliata, con presenza di notizie uniche e un marcato interesse biografico, che si concentra sulle figure di Aristide e di Cimone. Il biografo appare molto interessato a questo tema, nel cui ambito sottolinea la stabilità dell’alleanza ellenica antipersiana sotto la guida ateniese. La tradizione su cui si basa è coerente e ben informata, più attenta al ruolo dei singoli (come già Aristotele e Diodoro) rispetto a Erodoto e Tucidide, indifferente al contrasto Atene/Sparta che è lasciato sullo sfondo. Questo interesse può riflettere, oltre all’orientamento delle fonti utilizzate da Plutarco, anche gli interessi contemporanei, legati da una parte al risveglio della coscienza nazionale greca nel contesto culturale della Seconda Sofistica, dall’altra alle campagne di Traiano in Dacia e Partia., About the theme of the continuation of the war against Persia after 478, Plutarch is a very detailed source, providing unique news and with a marked biographical interest, which focuses on the characters of Aristides and Cimon. The biographer is very interested in this topic, in the framework of which he highlights the stability of the Hellenic anti Persian alliance under the Athenian leadership. The tradition on which it is based is coherent and well informed, more attentive (like Aristoteles and Diodorus) to the role of individuals than Herodotus and Thucydides, indifferent to the contrast Athens / Sparta that is left in the background. This interest may reflect, in addition to the orientation of the sources used by Plutarch, also contemporary interests, linked on the one hand to the awakening of the Greek national conscience in the cultural context of the Second Sophistics, on the other to the campaigns of Trajan in Dacia and Parthia.

Analisi del volume in oggetto

Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense suffer the Napoleonic rule in Italy, and the Block Book’s story of Carlo Pertusati collection’s is one of the most tragic events in this period. These precious volumes were part of the constituent heritage of the cultural institution in Milan. During the Napoleonic looting of art in the early years of the Cisalpine Republic in Italy, these rare books were requisitioned by Napoleon’s commissioners and transferred to Paris. Thanks to the Restoration, most of the looted books were returned to the Braidense, with the exception of a few specific examples, including the precious Block Book of Pertusati collection.

The 1441 Certame coronario, sponsored by Leon Battista Alberti, traced the attention of the literati of that time back to the classic theme of friendship, as exemplarily explained in the Ciceronian Laelius de amicitia. This article intends to investigate the repercussions of the Alberti’s competition on the literary production of the umanist Felice Feliciano from Verona (1433-1479?), since in his vulgar epistles the friendship subject took on a central role; moreover, it aims to inspect the classic sources from which Feliciano drew inspiration to write about this topic, and to refl ect on the “liminal” nature of friendship in the fifteenth century, halfway between authentic feeling and instrumental relations.

This paper contributes to the correct historical interpretation of "to physei polemion" in Thuc. IV 60,1.

Considerazioni sulla spedizione di Alessandro nelle terre corrispondeti all'attuale Afghanistan alla luce della situazione attuale..

La tradizione sull’assassinio di Efialte comprende cinque fonti appartenenti a generi letterari diversi (Antifonte, Aristotele, Idomeneo di Lampsaco, Diodoro, Plutarco). Aristotele e Plutarco fanno il nome dell’assassino, Aristodico di Tanagra; Plutarco (che comunque cita Aristotele) parla espressamente di un complotto oligarchico, che avrebbe eliminato Efialte perché inflessibile contro chi facesse torto al popolo. Idomeneo accusa Pericle di aver fatto uccidere l’amico e alleato per invidia: Plutarco, che cita Idomeneo, non crede a questa versione, che nasce nell’ambito dell’opposizione a Pericle e appartiene certamente alla categoria delle fake news. Antifonte (che è la fonte più antica) e Diodoro (il solo vero “storico”) sono caratterizzati dalla reticenza: essi affermano che il caso restò irrisolto. La reticenza di queste fonti, di tendenza antidemocratica, sembra confermare la versione del complotto oligarchico. Reticenza e disinformazione caratterizzano dunque la tradizione sulla morte di Efialte; tuttavia il confronto con il filone migliore, quello di Aristotele e Plutarco, ci consente di avanzare una convincente ipotesi di ricostruzione., The sources on Ephialtes’ death between reticence and disinformation Aristotle and Plutarch mention the name of the murderer, Aristodikos of Tanagra; Plutarch (who quotes Aristotle anyway) refers expressly an oligarchic conspiracy, aimed to eliminate Ephialtes as he was inflexible against those who did wrong to the people. Idomeneus accuses Pericles of killing his friend and ally by envy: Plutarch, who quotes Idomeneus, does not trust this version, which arises from the opposition to Pericles and certainly belongs to the category of false news. Antiphon (which is the oldest source) and Diodorus (the only real "historian") are characterised by reticence: in their opinion, the case remained unsolved. The reticence of these sources, of anti-democratic tendency, seems to confirm the version of the oligarchic conspiracy. Reticence and disinformation distinguish therefore the tradition on Ephialtes’ death; however, the comparison with the best vein, that of Aristotle and Plutarch, allows us to advance a convincing hypothetical reconstruction.

The fi fth centenary of the First Circumnavigation of the World makes us reconsider some features of this crucial event. The expedition was aimed to find an alternative route to the Spice Islands, controlled by the Portugueses. Despite some modern misinterpretations, there was no need to demonstrate that the Earth was round. The most important chronicle of the travel was written by Antonio Pigafetta, a man from Vicenza: his Relazione, though abridged and badly translated into French, conveyed the fi rst information about the newfound lands to the Europeans. Some of his errors survived for a long time in the Old World’s collective imagination. This is the case of the so-called Patagonian giants, who kept a firm place in the travelogues for more than two centuries, and whose existence eventually became a matter of serious dispute in the Age of the Enlightenment. Sadly, the greed for land and the merciless policy of Argentina and Chile did not spare the native Patagonian tribes, which had to face extinction at the end of the 19th century.