Licurgo, uomo o dio? Alcune riflessioni su PW 29 (Her. I 65, 3)

Herodotus is among the first authors to draw a connection between the Delphic manteion and the famous Spartan constitution, but in PW 29 it appears far from explicit. Lykourgos does not ask anything about the Spartan kosmos, but is spontaneously apostrophised by the Delphic priestess who pronounces a sort of celebration of him. Right after the response, Herodotus mentions two different versions about the origin of the Lacedaemonian constitution: the Spartans say that it was received by Lykourgos in Crete, while some others claim that it was dictated to him by the oracle of Delphi. Diodorus confirms this last narration reporting two more verses that explicit the lawgiver’s request of eunomie and its concession by the oracle. The goal of this paper is to add a few more useful elements to the interpretation of this oracular history, in which cultic and political issues are inextricably mixed, thanks to the concept of «oracular intertextuality»: sometimes, the oracular text alludes to one or more Homeric episodes, giving the oracular response extra significance (Giangiulio 2023).