La folle nostalgia dell'immortalità: su Epicuro, Ad Men. 124.10-11

The short article proposes an interpretation of Epicurus’ words πόθος τῆς ἀθανασίας (Ad Men. 124.10-11). Arguably, the expression does not simply refer to a generic desire of the foolish man for immortality. Since in Greek literature πόθος has usually the meaning of ‘craving’ and is often associated to the erotic remembrance of an absent lover, the phrase πόθος τῆς ἀθανασίας might aim at two goals. On the one hand, it indicates that the foolish man ‘craves’ for immortality in a way similar to the man who pain-fully craves for his absent lover, i.e. that this foolish man experiences many damaging and useless sufferings. On the other hand, the expression πόθος τῆς ἀθανασίας probably alludes to Plato’s praise of the erotic struggle for immortality, described especially in his Symposium and his Phaedrus. The interpretation also allows to positively reevaluate Epicurus’ writing skills and to distinguish two kinds of ‘craving’: the useless/damaging one, expe-rienced by foolish men and lovers, and the rewarding/useful one, felt by the wise man who remembers with pleasure the dead friends from the past.