Orfeo o Tamiri? Cantori traci in Sicilia

Abstract

Orpheus and Thamyris are connected on the literary and iconographic levels, but reveal several divergencies as well. On an early Sicilian krater and an early Paestan hydria from Selinous, the depictions of Orpheus and Thamyris respectively allow us to reconsider the significance of the two singers as symbol of the Thracian music, in the Sicilian context and evaluate the use of these figurative subjects on Sicilian vases. The identity of the two musicians is not clearcut; the focal point is the music, in particular the Thracian, which acquires a divine and regenerating value in relation to the theme of the Underworld.