The armorum iudicium, the contest between Ajax and Ulysses over the arms of Achilles, forms an episode in Book 13 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but it is also the subject of a declamation. While Ovid performs the debate as a controversia, Seneca the Elder defines it as a suasoria. In this paper, I revisit the question of the rhetorical form of the armorum iudicium, showing that it could indeed be carried out as a suasoria, if we assume that the theme of the declamation included a reference to the response of an oracle, as attested in a tragic fragment possibly belonging to Pacuvius’ Armorum iudicium; in any case, the exercise lies halfway between the two genres of controversia and suasoria. In the appendix, I discuss the rhetorical structure of the speeches of Ajax and Ulysses in the episode of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
L'armorum iudicium: suasoria o controversia?
emanuele berti
2025
Abstract
The armorum iudicium, the contest between Ajax and Ulysses over the arms of Achilles, forms an episode in Book 13 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but it is also the subject of a declamation. While Ovid performs the debate as a controversia, Seneca the Elder defines it as a suasoria. In this paper, I revisit the question of the rhetorical form of the armorum iudicium, showing that it could indeed be carried out as a suasoria, if we assume that the theme of the declamation included a reference to the response of an oracle, as attested in a tragic fragment possibly belonging to Pacuvius’ Armorum iudicium; in any case, the exercise lies halfway between the two genres of controversia and suasoria. In the appendix, I discuss the rhetorical structure of the speeches of Ajax and Ulysses in the episode of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
