Une ekphrasis tardive entre traditions poétique et iconographique : le char de Médée, symbole du Mal (Dracontius, Romul. X, 556-569)

Abstract

Dracontius (Vth c. AD, Vandal Africa) wrote the last Latin poem about Medea. At the end of the narration, he describes Medea’s char (Romul. X, 556-569). We can see trough the narrative insertion, trough intertextuality and iconography how Dracontius wrote a medallion : this ekphrasis, as a rhetorical technic, has to persuade the reader that the char symbolizes Evil, and Medea, as a malefical magician, is Evil incarnation. New interpretations of Furor residens, after Louis Séchan (v. 563) – Dracontius could be inspired by a Greek version of the myth – , and of the expression grauem currum (v. 562). The poet amplifies all negative details of the myth and denounces Medea as an evil magician : it could be considered as a testimony of polemics against magic in Vandal Africa.