Ocnus
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In Greek and Roman mythology, Ocnus Template:IPAc-en (Template:Langx) or Bianor Template:IPAc-en (Template:Langx) was a son of Manto and Tiberinus Silvius, king of Alba Longa. He founded modern Mantua in honor of his mother.<ref name=Abril>Template:Cite book</ref> Alternatively, he was the son or brother of Aulestes and founded Felsina (modern Bologna<ref>Virgil X, 198</ref>), Perusia or Cesena.<ref>Serv. ad Virg. Ed. ix. 60, Aen. x. 198.</ref>
Because of the association of his name with the Greek verb {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Grc-transl) Template:Gloss, Ocnus is a character or allegorical deity which personifies hesitation, frustration, delay and the wasting of time, thus symbolising the vicissitudes of human life consumed in unsuccessful efforts.<ref name=Abril/>
MythologyEdit
He was condemned to spend eternity in Tartarus, weaving a rope of straw. As depicted in the picture by Polygnotos, standing behind him is his donkey which eats the rope as fast as it is made.<ref>The picture by Polygnotos, University of Washington website</ref>
Unlike as it is the case with other inmates of Tartarus, there is no crime mentioned which would explain Ocnus's condition.<ref name="wokart">Norbert Wokart: Ent-Täuschungen. Philosophische Signaturen des 20. Jahrhunderts, Bibliothek Metzler vol. 5, Stuttgart 1991, p. 103-116.</ref> The classical philologist and epigraphist Reinhold Merkelbach suggests that this is the case because Ocnus had been "tardy" in seeking initiation in the Eleusinian Mysteries, but there is no direct evidence for this in the surviving literary resources.<ref name="castriota">David Castriota: Myth, Ethos, and Actuality. Official Art in Fifth-century B.C. Athens, Madison 1992, p. 277.</ref> The classical philologist Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff regards Ocnus's condition as a punishment for moral weakness, lack of courage, and shyness towards what he conceives as obligation to make up his mind.<ref name="wilamowitz">Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff: Der Glaube der Hellenen, vol. 2, Darmstadt 1976, p. 181.</ref> According to Wilamowitz, this might have good effects if it keeps away from evil deeds, but is egoistic because the avoidance of obstacles which require a decision to act basically helps no one.<ref name="wilamowitz2">Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff: Aristoteles und Athen, vol. 1, Berlin 1893, p. 174 (footnote).</ref> The philosopher Norbert Wokart however rejects this notion, and deems Ocnus to be just a picture or mere symbol, which allegorically shows the creative and destructive, and abstractly the fragile balance between the positive and the negative, because the positive would only become positive through the contrast of the negative.<ref name="wokart" />
Julius Evola, an Italian esotericist, posits the story as a symbolic representation of the birth and death of man as a form of incidental immortality, circumventing the individual. Here, Evola sees Ocnus as the eternal-mother, weaving the unending rope of humanity down into the mouth of the donkey, which symbolizes death<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
- Publius Vergilius Maro, Aeneid. Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Publius Vergilius Maro, Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Maurus Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.