Editing Ocnus

{{Short description|Mythic Greek figure personifying hesitation}}
{{For|the sea cucumber genus|Ocnus (echinoderm)}}
[[File:Ocnus by J.Ligozzi.jpg|thumb|Ocnus by J. Ligozzi (circa 1547-circa 1627)]]
In [[Greek mythology|Greek]] and [[Roman mythology]], '''Ocnus''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɒ|k|n|ə|s}} ({{langx|grc|Ὄκνος}}) or '''Bianor''' {{IPAc-en|b|aɪ|ˈ|eɪ|n|ə|r}} ({{langx|grc|Βιάνωρ}}) was a son of [[Manto (daughter of Tiresias)|Manto]] and [[Tiberinus Silvius]], king of [[Alba Longa]]. He founded modern [[Mantua]] in honor of his mother.<ref name=Abril>{{cite book|last=Abril Cultural|title=Editora Victor CivitaDicionário de Mitologia Greco-Romana|year=1973|publisher=Editora Victor Civita|pages=134|language=pt |oclc=45781956}}</ref> Alternatively, he was the son or brother of [[Aulestes]] and founded [[Felsina]] (modern [[Bologna]]<ref>[[Virgil]] X, 198</ref>), [[Perusia]] or [[Cesena]].<ref>Serv. ad Virg. Ed. ix. 60, Aen. x. 198.</ref>

Because of the association of his name with the Greek verb {{lang|grc|ὀκνέω}} ({{grc-transl|ὀκνέω}}) {{gloss|I shrink from, hesitate}}, Ocnus is a character or allegorical deity which personifies hesitation, frustration, delay and the wasting of time, thus symbolising the vicissitudes of human life consumed in unsuccessful efforts.<ref name=Abril/>

==Mythology==
He was condemned to spend eternity in [[Tartarus]], weaving a rope of straw. As depicted in the picture by [[Polygnotos]], standing behind him is his donkey which eats the rope as fast as it is made.<ref>[http://staff.washington.edu/fox/lib/ocnus1.jpg The picture by Polygnotos], University of Washington website</ref>

Unlike as it is the case with other inmates of Tartarus, there is no crime mentioned which would explain Ocnus's condition.<ref name="wokart">Norbert Wokart: Ent-Täuschungen. Philosophische Signaturen des 20. Jahrhunderts, Bibliothek Metzler vol. 5, Stuttgart 1991, p. 103-116.</ref> The classical philologist and epigraphist Reinhold Merkelbach suggests that this is the case because Ocnus had been "tardy" in seeking initiation in the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]], but there is no direct evidence for this in the surviving literary resources.<ref name="castriota">David Castriota: Myth, Ethos, and Actuality. Official Art in Fifth-century B.C. Athens, Madison 1992, p. 277.</ref> The classical philologist [[Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff]] regards Ocnus's condition as a punishment for moral weakness, lack of courage, and shyness towards what he conceives as obligation to make up his mind.<ref name="wilamowitz">Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff: Der Glaube der Hellenen, vol. 2, Darmstadt 1976, p. 181.</ref> According to Wilamowitz, this might have good effects if it keeps away from evil deeds, but is egoistic because the avoidance of obstacles which require a decision to act basically helps no one.<ref name="wilamowitz2">Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff: Aristoteles und Athen, vol. 1, Berlin 1893, p. 174 (footnote).</ref> The philosopher Norbert Wokart however rejects this notion, and deems Ocnus to be just a picture or mere symbol, which [[Allegory|allegorically]] shows the creative and destructive, and abstractly the fragile balance between the positive and the negative, because the positive would only become positive through the contrast of the negative.<ref name="wokart" />

[[Julius Evola]], an Italian esotericist, posits the story as a symbolic representation of the birth and death of man as a form of incidental immortality, circumventing the individual. Here, Evola sees Ocnus as the eternal-mother, weaving the unending rope of humanity down into the mouth of the donkey, which symbolizes death<ref>{{Cite book|last=Evola|first=Julius|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/8627007|title=The metaphysics of sex|date=1983|publisher=Inner Traditions International|isbn=0-89281-025-4|edition=1st U.S.|location=New York|pages=51|oclc=8627007}}</ref>

==Notes==
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== References ==

* [[Virgil|Publius Vergilius Maro]], ''[[Aeneid]].'' Theodore C. Williams. trans. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1910. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0054%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Publius Vergilius Maro, ''Bucolics, Aeneid, and Georgics''. J. B. Greenough. Boston. Ginn & Co. 1900. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0055 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Maurus Servius Honoratus]], ''In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii;'' recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0053 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].

{{SmithDGRBM|title=Ocnus |url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0003.001/11?rgn=full+text;view=image;q1=Ocnus}}

[[Category:Characters in Roman mythology]]
[[Category:Textiles in folklore]]
[[Category:Demigods in classical mythology]]
[[Category:Condemned souls in Tartarus]]