Erodoto, Sparta e gli oracoli su Tegea e Oreste

A famous study by Dickins associated the transfer of the bones of Orestes and the foundation of his cult (Herodot. 1. 66-68) with a radical change in Spartan politics. Following his study, it has often been argued that the stress laid by Sparta on its Achaean origin served as propaganda (the so-called ‘bones policy’ or ‘philachaean policy’) and had to be related to the transition from a policy of annexation and acquisition of helots to a policy of alliance in the mid 6th century. After the discovery of the Agamemnon sanctuary in Amyclae, that dates back to the 7th century, a revision of this widely shared opinion has been long due. The main purpose of this paper, however, is to explore Herodotus’ narrative through the lenses offered by the verse oracles (P.‑W. 31, 33) incorporated in it. Intertextual references to Homeric passages contained in the oracle P.-W. 33 show that Orestes was conceived as a Spartan hero and as the the avenger of his father. They also indicate that the verse oracle had been forged for a Spartan audience, and that it was an integral part of a larger oral narrative, of which some details were omitted by Herodotus. This Spartan oral tradition was a response to a hostile Tegean oral tradition, which included a verse oracle as well. In their story the Tegeans recalled the archaic struggle against Sparta and emphasized the greediness and the ruthless intentions of the Lacedaemonians. These two oral traditions, with the oracles included in them, had been shaped during the Pentecontaetia, when Tegea and Sparta were again at war and in the aftermath of the conflict. On the whole, however, Herodotus’ account of the foundation of Orestes’ cult reflects events that actually happened in the 6th century.