Tales of Imitation
Palamedes, the Cranes, and Interspecies Learning in Greco-Roman Antiquity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21539418 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marco Vespa (0000-0002-0570-7713, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 406-431 |
| Publication date | 2022-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Illinois Classical Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0363-1923 • E-ISSN: 2328-5265 |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.5406/23285265.47.2.10 |
| OpenAlex | W4390682469 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 29 |
Building upon new perspectives opened up by human-animal studies in the investigation of the Greco-Roman world, this article focuses on the cultural representation of interspecies learning in Greco-Roman sources. In particular, this study analyzes one of the foundational events of human culture in most societies: the introduction of the alphabet and writing. Among the many texts describing its origins, a few involve an enigmatic encounter between several flying cranes and the Greek hero Palamedes. This article considers the literary evidence regarding Palamedes and the cranes. It deals with folktales and anecdotes, illustrating how humans can learn from animals within the broader context of the transmission of knowledge in Greco-Roman antiquity. A thorough investigation of the ancient cultural encyclopedia will show why cranes could be regarded as teachers of the Greek hero. At the end of this study, it will be possible to identify precisely the constitutive forms of the letters that according to ancient Greek texts Palamedes could have observed by paying attention to the flight arrangements of cranes
Alphabet · Ancient Greek · Archaeology · Art · Cultural transmission in animals · Encyclopedia · HERO · Imitation · Linguistics · Literature · Modern Greek · Ancient Near East History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy · Psychology
Democritus and the sources of Greek anthropology
Early Greek Mythography, Vol. 2
La sagesse de Palamède
The Talking Greeks
Le Point de vue animal. Une autre version de l'histoire
The Iliad
Variations grecques sur l’origine (mythique) du langage
Prolégomènes à Nemesianus
Grues, étoiles et taureaux
La grue et le labyrinthe
Poesia e pubblico nella Grecia antica. Da Omero al V secolo
Faith Gives Fullness to Reasoning
History and Animal Studies
The Origins of Civilization in Greek and Roman Thought
Studies in the "Dionysiaca" of Nonnus
Zoomimesis
Sustenance and Symbol
Lines
The Superorganic
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |