Le ali del sole: una kenning artistica in Aesch. Suppl. 212–213

Aesch. Suppl. 212-213, in which the sun is called “bird of Zeus”, is currently assumed to be an Egyptianism. Although this hypothesis makes sense, the present paper argues that the lines may be interpreted in Indo-European terms, namely as an artistic kenning (Wærn 1951). The phraseological evidence points out two specific features that distinguish the eagle from other birds and the sun from other celestial beings. On the one side, they are both ‘swift’ / ‘swift in flying’, cf. αεἰτὸς ὠκὺς ἐν ποτανοῖς (Pind.), YAv. mərəγa- … vaiiąm … āsišta- and ὠκέος ἠελίοιο (Mimn.), ἁλίου πτέρυγι θοᾷ (Eur.), supak[ám āśúf patáyantam … süryam (AV). On the other side, they ‘see things sharply’, cf. ἠέλιος ... ὀξύτατον ... εἰσοράασθαι, αἰετὸς ὀξὺ λάων (Hom.), while the Sun-god has an ‘eagle eye’ in Vedic and Hittite texts, cf. páśyan g4dhrasya cák[asā (RV), Hitt. ḫāranili šākuiškezzi.