L’altro Omero di Pavese. La traduzione dell’Inno ad Afrodite e il mito, il rito, la festa

The recent publication of Cesare Pavese’s Opera Poetica (2021) makes it possible to return to the theme of Pavese's relationship with myth. In particular, the analysis of Pavese's translation of the Homeric Hymn V Ad Aphrodite is an opportunity to rediscover the macro-theme of man tempted and simultaneously terrified by the encounter with the divinity, the μιχθήμεναι - ‘mixing’ - on which he had structured Dialoghi con Leucò (Dialogues with Leucò). In the poet's version, the forcing of the Greek text also allows other major issues to emerge, addressed through the studies of Frazer, Jung and Kerényi: we recognise the archetype of the Divine Child that animates the profound dynamis of the major novels, La casa in collina (The House on the Hill) e La luna e i falò (The Moon and the Bonfires).