Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between the speaker and the paintings that he ostensibly describes in a series of descriptions in the “Eikones” of Philostratus the Elder (1,20-22). As a close reading of these descriptions in the order in which they occur in Philostratus’ text reveals, the initially distanced attitude of the speaker develops into an immersion in the world of the painting, which in turn gives way to a distanced description. The symmetrical change in the relationship between the speaker and the paintings overrides the boundaries between the three descriptions under consideration and suggestively underlines the erotic allure of Olympus, the ‘protagonist’ of the central description. At the same time, it should be noted that the words the speaker addresses to the painted Olympus feature allusions to their status as part of a written text. Moreover, the description immediately following the series 1,20-22 draws attention to the potentially dangerous power of immersion.