Home > Catalogue > Lexis > Num. 38 (n.s.) – Dicembre 2020 – Fasc. 2 > Bald is Handsome? Late Imperial Society in the Satire’s Deforming Mirror in the Calvitii encomium by Synesius of Cyrene

Lexis | Num. 38 (n.s.) – Dicembre 2020 – Fasc. 2

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Research Article

Bald is Handsome? Late Imperial Society in the Satire’s Deforming Mirror in the Calvitii encomium by Synesius of Cyrene

Gianluigi Tomassi    Independent Scholar    

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abstract

Synesius’ Encomium calvitii can be interpreted as an excellent example of late-antique satyr, which aims to denounce the decline of contemporary society by criticising its most prominent members; philosophers, rhetoricians, religious people, soldiers, romanized barbarians, characters of dubious morality. The conceptual complexity and the ideological proximity to the De Regno and the Dio confirm the opinion of modern scholars that the work is a product of the writer’s intellectual ripeness that can be dated to the years 403-404 CE.

Published
Dec. 21, 2020
Accepted
Oct. 6, 2020
Submitted
July 31, 2020
Language
IT

Keywords: Synesius of Cyrene • Paradoxical encomium • Second Sophistic • Ancient satire • Roman empire

permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Lexis/2724-1564/2020/02/011

Copyright: © 2020 Gianluigi Tomassi. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.