Fliunte e l'Argolide: la fondazione dei giochi Nemei nell'Ode 9 di Bacchilide

Phleious and theArgolid: The Foundation of the Nemean Games inBacchylides' Ode 9 <middle dot> In Bacchylides' Ode 9, Heracles' slaying of the Nemean lion and the funeral games in honour of Archemorus stand next to each other: in different stages of lit-erary tradition, both myths are featured as aitia for the Nemean games. According to some previous studies, Bacchylides sets the two myths in competition with each other in order to assert Phleious' claim over the Nemean games against Argos. However, a careful reading of the text reveals that Bacchylides confirms the myth of Archemorus as aition for the games, while making Heracles' myth a specific model for the victor. More than asserting Phleious' rivalry with Argos, Bacchylides aims at integrating Phleious into Argolic traditions by the geographic relevance of the leg-ends concerning the Seven against Thebes both in Argos and in the area of Phleious and Sikyon. In defining Phleious' geography, the Nemean aition is complementary to the...