The Representation of Ulysses and Polyphemus in Roman Mosaics. Analyses and Comparisons

Abstract

In Homer’s Odyssey, whilst Ulysses is staying at the court of the Pheacians, he narrates his past adventures, in particular his encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. The obvious physical imbalance between the two protagonists provides moral justification for recourse to guile, to metis, rather than engaging in a regular combat.
In this paper, we have chosen to further exploit mosaics representing Ulysses inebriating Polyphemus for the sole purpose of revisiting the documentation by focusing on comparable works - sculptures, paintings and minor arts - in order to put forward a few hypotheses. We will take a look in turn at the role played by the sculptures of the Hellenistic period, the influence of Aristotle’s unity of action and unity of time, ending with the different depictions of Polyphemus’ organs of sight – at times « monocular » or « triocular » – in attempt to elicit their iconographical meaning.

Keywords

• Mosaics
• Ulysses
• Polyphemus
• Cyclops
• Metis

La représentation d’Ulysse et de Polyphème dans la mosaïque romaine. Analyses et comparaisons

Abstract

In Homer’s Odyssey, whilst Ulysses is staying at the court of the Pheacians, he narrates his past adventures, in particular his encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus. The obvious physical imbalance between the two protagonists provides moral justification for recourse to guile, to metis, rather than engaging in a regular combat. In this paper, we have chosen to further exploit mosaics representing Ulysses inebriating Polyphemus for the sole purpose of revisiting the documentation by focusing on comparable works - sculptures, paintings and minor arts - in order to put forward a few hypotheses. We will take a look in turn at the role played by the sculptures of the Hellenistic period, the influence of Aristotle’s unity of action and unity of time, ending with the different depictions of Polyphemus’ organs of sight – at times « monocular » or « triocular » – in attempt to elicit their iconographical meaning.

Keywords

• Mosaics
• Ulysses
• Polyphemus
• Cyclops
• Metis

Roma Mozaiklerinde Ulysses ve Polyphemus’un Temsili. Analizler ve Karşılaştırmalar

Abstract

Homeros’un Odysseia isimli eserinde, Ulysses Pheacians’ın avlusunda dururken, geçmiş maceralarını, özellikle de Kiklops, Polyphemus ile karşılaşmasını anlatmaktadır. İki kahraman arasındaki bariz fiziksel dengesizlik, normal bir savaşa girmek yerine, kurnazlığa, metislere başvurmanın ahlaki gerekçesini ortaya koyar.
Bu makalede, sadece birkaç hipotezi ileri sürmek için karşılaştırılabilir eserlere - heykeller, resimler ve küçük buluntular - odaklanarak yeniden gözden geçirmek amacıyla Polyphemus’u sarhoş eden Ulysses’i betimleyen mozaikleri kullanmayı tercih ettik. Sırasıyla Helenistik Dönem’in heykellerinin oynadığı role, Aristoteles’in eylem birliğinin ve zaman birliğinin etkisine ve Polyphemus’un bazen “tek gözlü” bazen de “üç gözlü” olan görme organlarının farklı tasvirlerine bakacağız ve bunların ikonografik anlamlarını ortaya çıkarmaya çalışacağız.

Keywords

• Mozaikler
• Ulysses
• Polyphemus
• Kikloplar
• Metis

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