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O parasita, movido pela gula e pela preguiça, cedo irrompeu na literatura da Antiguidade Clássica, refletindo um tipo comum a várias sociedades e épocas. A interação constante entre literatura e sociedade, epitomizada pela Comédia, mas patente também na influência permanente dos poemas homéricos, gerou debates filosóficos e fixou na memória figuras parasíticas, de que se destacam o kolax grego e o parasitus romano. As mudanças operadas na sociedade romana pelo advento do regime imperial, em paralelo com o primado da riqueza e do luxo, criaram novos contextos para o parasita, nomeadamente ao desvalorizarem o estatuto tradicional do cliens e tornarem o convite para jantar com alguém rico e poderoso num objetivo existencial. Em tempos bastante próximos, os autores satíricos Marcial e Luciano de Samósata refletiram de forma convergente sobre esta escravidão (seruitium) social-mente imposta e passivamente aceite, elaborando uma espécie de patologia tragicómica da Vrbs (Damon 1997), e sublinhando que só o desprendimento e a sobriedade trariam a liberdade.
The parasite, driven by gluttony and laziness, surfaced very early in the literature of Classical Antiquity, reflecting a type common to various societies and eras. The constant interaction between literature and society, epitomised by the Comedy, but also evident in the permanent influence of the Homeric poems, generated philosophical debates and fixed in the memory parasitic figures, of which the Greek kolax and the Roman parasitus stand out. The changes in Roman society brought about by the advent of the imperial regime, along with the prevalence of wealth and luxury, created new contexts for the parasite, namely by devaluing the traditional status of the cliens and turning an invitation to dine with someone rich and powerful into a life purpose. In very close times, the satirical authors Martial and Lucian of Samosata reflected in a convergent way on this socially imposed and passively accepted slavery (seruitium), elaborating a sort of tragic-comic pathology of the Vrbs (Damon 1997), and emphasizing that only detachment and sobriety would bring freedom.
The parasite, driven by gluttony and laziness, surfaced very early in the literature of Classical Antiquity, reflecting a type common to various societies and eras. The constant interaction between literature and society, epitomised by the Comedy, but also evident in the permanent influence of the Homeric poems, generated philosophical debates and fixed in the memory parasitic figures, of which the Greek kolax and the Roman parasitus stand out. The changes in Roman society brought about by the advent of the imperial regime, along with the prevalence of wealth and luxury, created new contexts for the parasite, namely by devaluing the traditional status of the cliens and turning an invitation to dine with someone rich and powerful into a life purpose. In very close times, the satirical authors Martial and Lucian of Samosata reflected in a convergent way on this socially imposed and passively accepted slavery (seruitium), elaborating a sort of tragic-comic pathology of the Vrbs (Damon 1997), and emphasizing that only detachment and sobriety would bring freedom.
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Kolax/parasitus Clientela Marcial Luciano de Samósata Martial Lucian of Samosata