The first lecture will focus on an image that appears in theOresteia, Aeschylus' trilogy staged in 458 B.C. This image is that of the young Iphigenia, sacrificed on an altar and compared, according to the conventional interpretation, to a goat. But we must dare another interpretation. Aeschylus creates a remarkably complex image, combining a monster, the Chimera, a young girl, a goat and the concept of law. All these links transgress fundamental taboos of the Greek imagination. Monster, animal, woman, human, justice: an irreconcilable mix with the cognitive theories of metaphor. Based on other strange images present in theOresteia - octopuses, wolves, kites, etc. -Thanks to this new interpretation of the image of the goat-monster-daughter, we'll gain a better understanding not only of one of the most important works of art in the ancient world, and of the problem of law and animals in the Greek city, but also of the cognitive functions of metaphor.
11:00 - 12:00
