The Epitaph for Bion. Text, Commentary and Translation.

• Applicant: Margherita Maria DI Nino, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Greek and Latin Philology
• Term: from 2011 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 196614650

The present research project constitutes my habilitation project.Its main and original goals are:1. to produce an updated critical edition of the Epitaph for Bion.2. to place this text within the history of the genre and to demonstrate that it forms a crucial mid-stage in its development from Theocritus to Virgil.3. to analyse the Epitaph in the light of modern methodologies for which FANTUZZI and REED paved the way with their commentaries on the Epitaph for Adonis.4. To study in-depth the features of the poem to which little attention has been paid to date, above all: a.- the self-referential attitude of the poet. b.- the use of metapoetic devices. c.- the exploitation of the Pathetic Fallacy. d.- the presence of elements referring to ritual. e.- and early (and until now overlooked) instances of the so-called wavering identity.5. to widen our present knowledge of the reception of Greek bucolic in general and of the Epitaph in particular in Latin poetry, by pointing out the complex network of allusions and influences which links Roman bucolic and elegy to Greek bucolic.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants