Argumentative function of Hercules in Collenuccio’s "Philotimo" (1407) and Gutierre de Cetina’s translation (1538-1554)

Abstract

This article analyses the argumentative function of the Greek divine hero Hercules in Pandolfo Collenuccio’s Philotimo (1497), a satiric dialogue making criticism about honor and nobility at court society, and Gutierre de Cetina’s Spanish translation (1538-1554). The aim is to compare the reasons why the divine hero is able to solve as a judge the dispute taking place between an ignorant head and her cap: both in the original and in the translation, the authority given to Hercules derives from the virtue and effort characterizing the Greek hero; at the same time, whilst in the original text this authority is also due to Collenuccio’s intention of honoring his patron, Ercole I d’Este, by means of a rhetorical play based on homonym; in the translation any laudatory function is omitted instead, thus displaying just the moral ideas of the dialogue and its universal message.