CONSIDERAZIONI SULL’IMMAGINE DELLA SCIMMIA NEL MONDO ANTICO. IL MITO DEI CERCOPI FRA ICONOGRAFIA E FONTI LETTERARIE

Abstract

The paper is an interpretive survey of the legend of the Cercopes, a myth widespread in archaic and classical times that revolves on a peculiar kind of divine punishment: the metamorphosis of human beings into apes. The juxtaposition of literary sources and iconographic sources makes it possibile to identify two main narrative strands: one, serious, is in fact part of the larger cycle of the labours of Heracles; the other, comic, may be regarded as a variant of the mythical theme featuring the hero himself and other satirical figures. In the comic variant a crucial role is played by the name Κέρκωψ, to be interpreted as “with the face in front of the tail”, that is to say, in front of Heracles’ posterior or genitals (as in the example of the two brothers who, after being captured, were placed in the upside-down position); another meaning of the name Κέρκωψ, related to the Cercopes’ impudence, can be traced back to a sexual metaphor still widespread to this day, the roots of which seem to lie in Mediterranean folklore. A connection can also be established between the comic variant and well-known scenes, common both in archaic and classical times, of attempted theft of Heracles’ weapons by satyrs and sileni. These scenes may be taken as narrative devices meant to support the metamorphosis into apes well attested for the Italiotic area; in particular, the ape’s traits are counterbalanced by the Heraclean attribute of μελάμπυγος.