La Ricezione della Vita di Mario di Plutarco nella cultura greco-latina dal II al V secolo d.C.

This research aims to answer three questions: why do we study an ancient reception of a text, in the 21st century? Why do texts change their meanings throughout time? How does this occur in our case study, Marius’ life? The methodologic approach is based on Jauss’ hermeneutic; Gramsci’s cultural hegemony; László’s construction of cultural identity; Hardwick’s classical reception studies; Lausberg’s literary communities. Moreover, I propose to define cultural communities. These communities reuse texts according to their own perception (voluntarily or involuntarily). So, I have selected a corpus of authors, linked to Plutarch and Marius, that have been catalogued by different cultural groups. The results show that under the Antonine dynasty Marius’ existence is almost forgotten, but the moral message of Life is systematically reused. The 3rd century exalts the authoritarian Marius, according to the political program of the Severan dynasty and military emperors. The 4th and 5th centuries reused Marius’ life in two ways: Christians describe a bad man, while pagans portray a hero, because the former want to condemn, and the latter want to glorify Roman tradition. These results have already answered the third question, on how meanings change. They allow us to answer the second question: why? Because of the change of political aims. Finally, I can answer the first one: why is this important for us? Because contemporary cultural communities reuse classical texts in the same ways as the ancient ones. So, this analysis of the past can explain the present too.