Vico in Siwa. Oracular Word and History from the Scienza Nuova of 1725: Parola oracolare e storia a partire dalla Scienza nuova del 1725

Abstract

In 331 BC, Alexander the Great visited the oracle at the Siwa Oasis in Egypt, where he was declared the son of Zeus. Starting from this symbolic event, this essay explores the theme of the oracular word in the philosophy of Vico, beginning with his New Science of 1725. The aim is to show how this theme, which seems at first to be connected mainly to the discovery of the linguistic principles of Vico’s science, actually proves to be a decisive key for understanding some central aspects of his philosophy of history. By creating an ideal dialogue between Vico’s work and Plutarch’s writings on oracles, the essay will analyze the delicate relationship between the divine and the human, and in particular, that fundamental tension between the transcendence of the providential order and its immanent realization in history.