Laughter and Medicine

Activity: Participating in or organising an event typesParticipation in conference

Description

paper title: Leonardo Costantini (University of Bristol), “A Celebration of Laughter: The Risus Festival Episode (Apuleius, Metamorphoses 2.32-3.12). Abstract: The episode of the so-called Risus Festival (or Festival of Laughter) in the Metamorphoses by the second-century rhetorician and Platonist Apuleius describes the humiliating trial of the protagonist, Lucius. This surprisingly turns out to be a practical joke for the yearly celebration of the god Laughter (Risus) in the Thessalian city of Hypata. Most of the scholarship on this episode offered historical or anthropological readings: on the one hand, some stress a possible connection with the Spartan celebration of the god Laughter (Γέλως) or the Roman festival of the Hilaria. Other scholars discuss, instead, this episode from an anthropological standpoint, stressing Lucius’ role as a ritual scapegoat. Recently, in my commentary on Apuleius’ Metamorphoses, Book 3 (Brill: 2021), I cast light on the rhetorical and legal features of the Risus Festival, arguing how it would have entertained Apuleius’ readers. This paper aims to continue my investigation and explore a hitherto overlooked aspect of the Risus Festival episode: I will compare the hysterical reaction of the audience watching Lucius’ trial with ancient medical and philosophical considerations on laughter. I will, therefore, address the following questions: is laughter (and the eponymous god Risus) presented as a positive or negative force in this episode? What kind of effects does it have on the mind of those who laugh (i.e. the Hypatans) and the victim who is being laughed at (i.e. Lucius)? To what extent does this episode help us understand Apuleius’ own perception of laughter in the context of ancient medical and philosophical discourse?
Period4 Nov 20245 Nov 2024
Event typeConference
LocationBirmingham, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

Keywords

  • Apuleius
  • laughter
  • ancient novel
  • Metamorphosis