Abstract
Philostratus’Heroicusbetrays an obsession with statues that demands explanation. Just as cult statues of epic heroes litter the contemporary second-century CE landscape, so do they litter Philostratus’ text. No story of a hero is distinct from an ecphrasis of that hero's statue, and in practice a request for the one is a request for the other. Lifeless heroes (Protesilaus first and foremost) become vividly ‘alive’ in the imagination of their devotees and, occasionally, their Zoilean adversaries. As the lines between reality and fantasy blur, Philostratus’ critique of material cultural practices accompanies and fortifies his better knownHomerkritik.
Highlights
They [sc. the Greeks] purify themselves in vain . . . They pray to these statues the way one might converse with houses: they have no clue what gods or even heroes are like
What is real or imagined in the Heroicus? How credible or even plausible are its visual details? And what is to be learned from uncertainties like these? Such problems lie at the heart of ancient ecphrasis, and they take on a special urgency in the case of the Heroicus
After all, is a beguiling device that both masks and advertises its own implausibility: ecphrases are adynata in motion; they never fully deliver on their promises, much they may succeed as prodigious performances that seemingly defy gravity
Summary
The Heroicus, too, is constructed around a series of physiognomical portraits that, as Tim Whitmarsh notes, ‘are brilliantly ecphrastic, providing a high level of pictorial detail’ and inevitably inviting comparison with the Imagines.1 What such a comparison brings will depend on how we understand the project of ecphrasis in antiquity. He exploits the allure and the native instabilities of ecphrasis – what it promises and what it fails to deliver – in order to baffle and entertain the reader On the other, he leverages ecphrasis in order to engage in a critique of the literary and cultural obsessions with Homer in his own day. He leverages ecphrasis in order to engage in a critique of the literary and cultural obsessions with Homer in his own day Both sets of concerns, though inherited, are hallmarks of imperial Greek literature. It is here that a first clue to Philostratus’ innovativeness lies
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
