La storia del genere umano E la scrittura di eros

Abstract

This essay studies the complex role played by Eros in Giacomo Leopardi’s Storia del genere umano, the first of the Operette morali. In this text Leopardi recalls not only the platonic distinction between the divine and the vulgar Eros, but also the archaic dimension of the myth of Eros as it appears in Hesiod’s Theogony. Lollini shows how the
idea of Eros as primeval force and cosmic energy is crucial for Leopardi’s philosophy and writing.