Il Κείων νόμιμον (Men. fr. inc. fab. 879 KA = Kith. fr. *12 Blanchard): gerontocidio, gēroboskía ed euthanasía fra grecità e mondi barbari

Valentina Dardano

Abstract:

Starting with the famous passage of Hdt. 3. 38. 1-2, where the author compares the Greek funerary customs with those of the Indian Callatians, the attitude shown by different people towards their elderly and dear departed has emerged as the ultimate test bench to appreciate how widely the habits and the value system can range from people to people.
In the IV century B.C. the Greeks’ geroboskia is praised as opposed to the barbarians leaving behind the elderly and infirm in Men. Georgos 54ff. On the other hand, in another menandrean fragment, usually assigned to Menander’s Kitharistes (Men. fr. inc. fab. 879 K-A = Kith. fr. *12 Blanchard), the persona loquens shows her appreciation for a certain Κείων νόμιμoν stating: ὁ μὴ δυνάμενος ζῆν καλῶς οὐ ζῇ κακῶς. The context of the fragment is unclear; nonetheless, we know from Strabo that the νόμιμoν instructed the Ceans to drink hemlock once they turned 60. As a matter of fact, gerontocide is documented among several ancient civilizations, mostly nomads living in hostile environments; gerontocide among the Greeks, though, feels amiss. What is the real meaning of the fragment referencing the Κείων νόμιμoν? Is Menander really contradicting himself, praising the Greeks’ geroboskia in the Georgos, but also the Ceans’ gerontocide in the Kitharistes? This paper aims to offer some answers.