ROMAN COMMUNICATION - M. Bettini The Ears of Hermes. Communication, Images, and Identity in the Classical World. Translated by William Michael Short. Pp. xvi + 278. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 2011 (originally published as Le orecchie di Hermes, 2000). Cased, US$59.95 (cd-rom, US$14.95). ISBN: 978-0-8142-1170-0 (978-0-8142-9271-6cd-rom).

Abstract

This translation comes eleven years after B.'s original, with several changes: Parts 2 and 3 are reversed; the old Chapters 3 ('Il detective è un re: anzi, un dio'), 4 ('Turno e la rondine nero') and 8 ('Come un confetto') have been removed; the old Chapters 5 and 6 ('Sosia e il suo sosia' and 'Anfitrione prima e dopo Plauto') have been worked together; and a new chapter on Roman funerals (Chapter 7, 'Death and Its Double', a revised version of an essay published in 2005) 1 has been appended. Short has undertaken, therefore, not simply a translation, but a revision and re-edition under B.'s direction. But while the text is described as 'in some places brought up to date' (p. ix), the bibliography reveals only one title post 2000, 2 the date of the original publication. That the incorporation of new scholarship was not part of the revision seems an opportunity missed. The book is well laid-out with a table of contents, translator's preface, author's preface, eight footnoted chapters, bibliography and index. The chapters have been grouped into three parts: 'Mythology', 'Social Practices' and 'Doubles and Images'. Chapter 1 considers Hermes as the god of communication, including vocal divination, linguistic translation and mercantile exchange. B. draws on authors as diverse as Hesiod and Rilke to focus attention on the god's association with the mouth and ears, before a detailed and intriguing discussion of the Latin proverb lupus in fabula (pp. 15-26, similar to the English 'Speak of the Devil'). In a final section, B. discusses the role of ears as loci of memory in Roman society, with 'reminding' described variously as 'stuffing', 'weighing down' or even 'pulling on' the ears (pp. 36-9). While each of the sections are, in their own right, learned and interesting, readers may find the unifying theme of Hermes rather tangential. Chapter 2 is an impressively broad discussion of paradigms of European folklore. B. draws on Homer, Shakespeare, Saxo Grammaticus, the Bible, Russian fables and Firdawsi/Firdousi (spelled inconsistently) to reveal the motif of the protagonist who manipulates others by appearing foolish. The relevance to the volume's main themes is unclear until the final paragraph: while we do not have written sources for Roman folktales, motifs common to later European folktales can be seen to draw on Classical models. This interesting argument may have benefitted from further examples. Chapter 3 begins with a long meditation on tolerance and cultural relativism centred on the essays of Montaigne and Pindar's maxim nomos pantôn basileus. Most rewarding here is the discussion of mos maiorum, its maintenance, transmission and manipulation. B.'s identification of various, often conflicting, mores according to social group, brings him