Vale, si potes. 'Maschere' ovidiane nell’epistolium di Circe (Petron. 129,3-9)

Abstract

The exchange of letters between Circe and Polieno in the Satyrica (129-130) is a remarkable
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In the comic frame of the Crotonian episode, Circe’ s epistle (129.3-9) represents a masterpiece
of ambiguity: the matron, in fact, plays the role of two typically Ovidian characters
– the heroine and the love doctor – and expresses to the boy the irritation for his sexual
failure, due to his impotence. Starting from the systematic erotic twisting, characterizing
the language of the epistolium, this essay is meant to show that the elegiac and didactic
epistle by Circe to Polyaenos; this exegetical perspective will at the same time bring out
the irony generated by the dialectic between the comic framework and the elegiac nature of
which the characters’ language and attitudes are imbued.

Key-words: Petronius, Circe, epistle, ambiguity.