Az ELTE BTK Latin Tanszéke
tisztelettel meghív minden érdeklődőt
Eva Marie Noller (Basel)
A tiny fish, Minerva’s sandals, and the Colossus Neronis
Pliny the Elder’s aesthetic of scale
című előadására.
The encyclopaedic content and the structure of the Natural History clearly show that scale plays a fundamental role in Pliny’s work: The totality of Nature is depicted starting from her biggest to her smallest creations. But the significance of scale goes far beyond the content of the Natural History. As I will argue, Pliny in his work also develops an aesthetics of scale which fundamentally influences his encyclopaedic writing. In my talk, I will analyse a specific pattern Pliny frequently uses: Instead of fully describing a big object like a statue in its extensive dimensions, Pliny focuses on a detail, like a tiny fish (book 32) or the sandals of a statue of Minerva (book 36). This pattern, however, does not only serve as narrating device which enables Pliny to illustrate the dimensions of an object to his readers. It rather makes possible to grasp the aim underlying the Natural History which is to show that Nature is to be admired in all her parts.
Az előadás ideje és helye:
2022. november 24. (csütörtök), 16 óra,
1088 Bp., Múzeum krt. 4/F, 212-es terem.
Az esemény az NKFI FK 128492 számú projekt támogatásával valósul meg.
