The article aims to offer a reassessment of Gela’s archaic stasis: the events related to the struggle between two sectors of the Sicilian polis are handed down by Herodotus in a very dense passage (VII 153) which describes how Telines, a Gelon’s ancestor, managed to overcome the division of the Geloan civic body. Several aspects of Herodotus’ text defy interpretation: for instance, how does Telines use the «sacred things» of the chthonian deities? With what part of the polis does Telines negotiate the grant of the priesthood of the chthonian deities, earning the title of hierophantes for himself and his descendants? Should we read the Herodotean chapter as a piece of historical evidence or as the result of a constructive memory process? An attempt is here made to decode the inner, not apparent consistency of the Herodotean text, by collecting all the clues it contains pointing to Thesmophorian rites and to the way in which Telines ably exploits, and transforms, them in order to achieve his political goals.
Telines ierofante a Gela
Porciani, Leone
2022-01-01
Abstract
The article aims to offer a reassessment of Gela’s archaic stasis: the events related to the struggle between two sectors of the Sicilian polis are handed down by Herodotus in a very dense passage (VII 153) which describes how Telines, a Gelon’s ancestor, managed to overcome the division of the Geloan civic body. Several aspects of Herodotus’ text defy interpretation: for instance, how does Telines use the «sacred things» of the chthonian deities? With what part of the polis does Telines negotiate the grant of the priesthood of the chthonian deities, earning the title of hierophantes for himself and his descendants? Should we read the Herodotean chapter as a piece of historical evidence or as the result of a constructive memory process? An attempt is here made to decode the inner, not apparent consistency of the Herodotean text, by collecting all the clues it contains pointing to Thesmophorian rites and to the way in which Telines ably exploits, and transforms, them in order to achieve his political goals.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
