I 'discorsi sull'amore' nel romanzo di Achille Tazio

In this paper I try to underline the importance of the erotikoì lògoi (“speeches on love”) in Achilles Tatius’ novel. In the first two books Clitophon, after falling in love with Leucippe, is able to overcome the reluctance of the girl, taking advantage from “lessons in love” which are given to him by his friend Clinias and his slave Satyros. Clitophon too speaks on love, not to teach anyone but to enter in the role of the seducer. The sexual career of Clitophon, which should culminate in an act of love, stops abruptly in Egypt, after the promise of chastity made by Leucippe. The love affair with Melite restarts the sentimental education of the young man, but this time the roles are reversed: now it’s Melite, the female partner of the new pair, who passionately speaks on Eros, trying to persuade her beloved, while Clitophon is reluctant. As he finally accepts to make love with her, to story comes to its fulfilment: the long sequence of “speeches on love” produces the act of love which was expected by the readers from the very beginning.