Una nuova attestazione del 'topos' "le città sono gli uomini" (Eur. fr. 828 K) nel 'Ciclope' euripideo (115-116)

This paper investigates the well-known topos ‘cities are men’, first attested in Alcaeus, and mainly focuses on the gnomic statement found in fragment 828 from Euripides’ Phrixus. The comparison of this fragment with previous occurrences of the topos not only clarifies its interpretation, but also allows to propose a relative dating of the Phrixus. Moreover, the analysis pursued here identifies a new occurrence of the topos in Euripides’ Cyclops (vv. 115-116), and shows that the opposition between πόλις/ἐρημία does not have evidence military implications in this case.