According to the current interpretation, the city of Siris, in Magna Graecia, was founded by a group of Colophonians which migrated because of conflicts with the Lydians. This reconstruction is based on the account reported by Ps.-Aristotle (de mirab. ausc. 106) and Strabo (VI 1, 14 C 264), but above all it is based on Athenaeus (XII 25, 523c-e), who talks about the τρυφή related to Siris and quotes Timaeus (fr. 51 Jacoby), Aristotle (fr. 601 Gigon), Archilochus (fr. 22 West) and Euripides (fr. 496 Nauck). Analyzing the text of Athenaeus, it is conceivable that he (or perhaps already one or more of his sources) wrongly related to the Siris in Italy the traditions on the Colophonian τρυφή blending them with the mention of the river Siris by Archilocus, who instead alluded to the Strymon region in comparison to Thasos. Therefore, a new in-depth analysis of the literary and archaeological data on the Ionian presences in the area of the Siris in Italy and not last about the quality of these presences seems required, before accepting Athenaeus as a truly reliable source on the Colophonian foundation of the Siris in Italy.
Siris colofonia
vecchio, luigi
2023
Abstract
According to the current interpretation, the city of Siris, in Magna Graecia, was founded by a group of Colophonians which migrated because of conflicts with the Lydians. This reconstruction is based on the account reported by Ps.-Aristotle (de mirab. ausc. 106) and Strabo (VI 1, 14 C 264), but above all it is based on Athenaeus (XII 25, 523c-e), who talks about the τρυφή related to Siris and quotes Timaeus (fr. 51 Jacoby), Aristotle (fr. 601 Gigon), Archilochus (fr. 22 West) and Euripides (fr. 496 Nauck). Analyzing the text of Athenaeus, it is conceivable that he (or perhaps already one or more of his sources) wrongly related to the Siris in Italy the traditions on the Colophonian τρυφή blending them with the mention of the river Siris by Archilocus, who instead alluded to the Strymon region in comparison to Thasos. Therefore, a new in-depth analysis of the literary and archaeological data on the Ionian presences in the area of the Siris in Italy and not last about the quality of these presences seems required, before accepting Athenaeus as a truly reliable source on the Colophonian foundation of the Siris in Italy.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.