The ekphrasis in the novel Leucipe and Clitophon by Aquiles Tácio

• Grant number: 25/03692-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Literature - Classical Literatures
• Principal Investigator: Emerson Cerdas
• Grantee: Alice Mitie Kubo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this project is to study the ekphrasis present in the novel Leucipe and Clitophon, by Achilles Tatius, dating from the second century of our era. Among the novels known today, the work of Achilles Tatius stands out as an innovative narrative for several reasons, especially because it features an autodiegetic narrator, Clitophon, who tells his story to an anonymous character. In addition, the presence of sophisticated descriptions, such as ekphrasis of works of art and other settings, reveals a narrative of high aesthetic value. However, these descriptive passages have often been interpreted as mere digressions, detached from the main plot and used only as embellishments to demonstrate the author's virtuosity. In view of this, this project aims to study the sections of the narrative classified as ékphrasis with a twofold objective: firstly, to analyze each ékphrasis in isolation, understanding its literary and linguistic resources and identifying patterns and recurrences in its construction; secondly, to investigate how each ékphrasis relates to the narrative, actively contributing to the construction of its meaning.