Cultura visuale in Luciano di Samosata (e oltre): arte, politica e società tra II e III secolo d.C.

n late antiquity, the intellectual value of artistic experience is clearly established, with beauty regard- ed as a means of knowledge and a path to the divine. This perspective moves away from the conventional Platonic critique, which dismisses the arts as mere imitations of reality. The paper shows that the roots of this revaluation can be traced back to the second half of the 2nd century A.D. Discussions regarding the significance of painting, sculpture and dance appear especially in some works of Lucian of Samosata, emphasising their connection with the liberal arts. Evidence suggests that the presence of the emperor Lucius Verus in Antioch influenced this discourse; his appreciation of the arts and artists may have fostered a deeper reflection on the status of the mimetic disciplines and their role in education and politics. Shortly afterwards, a new generation of sophists (notably Philostratus) proved to have fully absorbed the paradigm shift.