La kithara e l'aulos: Apollo e Marsia nel carme 1,3 di Ennodio

Poem 1,3 is a refined composition that presents a spring awakening scene in which nature returns to new life. After this background, Ennodius asks Deuterius to welcome the two young nephews of Proculus – probably a poet of Ligurian origins already celebrated by Sidonius Apollinaris – in the auditorium of Milan. The virtues of the grandfather are inspired by a profound classical paideia, and his skill as a poet equals that of Apollo; the latter could call Proculus to help him if Marsyas challenged him again. The article aims to decipher this mythological reference, interpreting the figure of Apollo as the symbol of a higher culture, that of Greek Roman and Christian ancestry, against Marsyas, a symbol of the barbarian element, from which the grandchildren must keep away