The Virgilian oratio suasoria addressed to Ulysses in Dante’s Inferno is here interpreted like a high-style speech in Greek, which ironically uses poetical Latin expressions typical of the character of Dido in love. Ulysses’ figure is than analyzed referring to the comical model of the second Satire by Horace, a clear (and never studied so far) Dantean source. This last shows the sovereign of Ithaca as the deceiver of a group of old people with clouded intellects, with the intention of stealing their patrimony. Ulysses’ deceit is a sin for Dante, but this Greek hero is more responsible because of his irreverent ape-like laughter in front of the mountain of Purgatory as a concrete and symbolic manifestation of infinity. Going beyond the boundaries of human rationality can not be a fault for Dante and his Christian mind, because it is always necessary for him to transcend our limited state, longing for divinization. The real responsibility of Ulysses is therefore his movement towards Mystery without humbleness. This last is indeed a complete denial of the self that this Greek spirit does not know, totally lacking the necessary listening disposition.

L’article est une tentative d’appliquer la théorie de l’orientalisme à Partonopeu de Blois, un roman anonyme médiéval français, particulièrement populaire au Moyen Age. L’auteure de l’article analyse le comportement d’un jeune chevalier occidental après son arrivée à Chef d’Oire, une ville byzantine opulente, dissimulant des merveilles de la technique orientale et procurant la prospérité à ses habitants invisibles. Les contacts de Partonopeu avec Mélior, une fée et l’héritière du trône, ainsi que les événements qui permettront au héros de devenir empereur, sont également interprétés. Tous ces éléments contribuent à créer une vision spécifique des relations entre l’Occident et l’Orient byzantin, dans laquelle ce dernier semble se soumettre à la suprématie étrangère.