Dealing with the subject of so-called ‘automata’ from an iconographic point of view is somewhat problematic, firstly because of the objective difficulty of distinguishing artefacts of this kind in the figurative heritage that has come down to us. However, in at least one case, a legendary figure, a bronze man, Talos, mentioned by Simonides as both bronze and “empsychos” (animated), as did Sophocles in his play Daidalos, is clearly recognisable on a columnar crater from Montesarchio, attributed to the circle of the painter of Orpheus, on an Attic crater found at Spina, and above all on the monumental crater from the Jatta collection at Ruvo, on which he is distinguished from the other figures by a white overpainting with traces of golden-yellow paint. Nevertheless, human traits in this creature, such as the tears flowing from his face at the moment of capture, make him a hybrid figure capable of feeling. In order to understand his sudden iconographic fame in the socio-cultural context of the second half of the 5th century BC, the figure of Talos will be studied in the literary and iconographic sources of the 5th century BC.
Talos il robot “empsychos” nell’imagerie attica della seconda metà del V secolo a.C.
Giudice E.
2025-01-01
Abstract
Dealing with the subject of so-called ‘automata’ from an iconographic point of view is somewhat problematic, firstly because of the objective difficulty of distinguishing artefacts of this kind in the figurative heritage that has come down to us. However, in at least one case, a legendary figure, a bronze man, Talos, mentioned by Simonides as both bronze and “empsychos” (animated), as did Sophocles in his play Daidalos, is clearly recognisable on a columnar crater from Montesarchio, attributed to the circle of the painter of Orpheus, on an Attic crater found at Spina, and above all on the monumental crater from the Jatta collection at Ruvo, on which he is distinguished from the other figures by a white overpainting with traces of golden-yellow paint. Nevertheless, human traits in this creature, such as the tears flowing from his face at the moment of capture, make him a hybrid figure capable of feeling. In order to understand his sudden iconographic fame in the socio-cultural context of the second half of the 5th century BC, the figure of Talos will be studied in the literary and iconographic sources of the 5th century BC.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
