La figura di Proteo, il testo proteiforme e la struttura delle Metamorfosi (Ov. Met. 8.730-737)

Abstract

Proteus, the god of metamorphoses known from Book Four of the Odyssey, appears many times in Ovid. However, neither studies nor commentaries have focused on his presence in Book Eight of the Metamorphoses; the lines in question (8.730-737) have not yet been examined thoroughly with him in mind. This study aims to prove the central role of Proteus in the book through the examination of its structure and narratological construction. In a meta­poetic interpretation, Ovid’s Proteus is regarded as a metaphor of “poésie protéiforme”, re­presenting the essential nature of Ovid’s textual world.