Dal ketos al senmurv? Mutazioni iconografiche e transizioni simboliche del ketos dall'antichità al Medioevo (secolo XIII)

Using literary and iconographic sources the paper discusses the image of ketos from Antiquity to Middle Ages. The ketos, according with Greek literature, was used in the myths of both Perseus and Andromeda and Heracles and Hesione. The archaic images of the sea-monster are identifiable on Corinthian vases, on which we have only heads of leonine form. From 5thcentury the classical type of ketos is distinguished from all other Greek sea-monsters by a long neck, fins (also like wings), long muzzle and corrugated upper surface (like a crocodile), and leonine forelegs. Separated from histories of Andromeda and Hesione, the ketos is represented as a mount of marine gods and, especially, Nereides. The transition from Late Antiquity to Early Christian art is well represented by Aratea and by the Book of Jonah, on which the ketos was reproduced using the classic type. It served for representing Jonah’s big fish on sarcophagi and catacombs paintings, according to Midrash commentary who distinguished ketos from Leviathan. During the Middle Ages (from 11th-12thcentury) the image of ketos changed gradually in two directions: from classical type into a kind of a panther/dog, sometime winged, with a sea-serpent tale (Campanian ambos); or into a simple big fish as reproduced on manuscripts and italian sculptures. The article also discusses the influence of Sassanid Senmurv, concluding that the ketos was essentially an elaboration of models from Antiquity.