Quando l’immagine ha bisogno della parola: riflessioni sulla poetica dell’ekphrasis nell’epigramma latino

Abstract

This article focuses on some epigrams by Martial (7.84; 9.76; 10.32; 1.109; 9.43- 44) and Ausonius (epigr. 12; Biss. 5; epigr. 11 Green) with the aim of reflecting on the com- plex relationship between art and text. The examples selected highlight the strategies with which ekphrastic epigram intends to present itself not as the pale reflection of the power of an image, but as a creative and competitive product expressing something that visual image can not express.