Le funzioni della personificazione del fiume Po nel volume Eridanus di Giovanni Pontano

The Eridanus volume by Giovanni Pontano is addressed to the author’s last great love, Stella. The Po river, identified with the mythical Eridan into which fell down Phaeton’s burnt body, flows through Stella’s motherland. The myth of Phaeton from Ovid’s Metamorphoses (books I and II) becomes the main mythological motif of the Eridanus. Pontano makes an amplification of the episode of the Eridan – the very river that received and washed over Phaeton’s body. Pontano’s focus is on the restorative power of the Po (Eridan). The personification of the Po is presented as a benign and benevolent divinity that gives a shelter to lovers and takes care of unhappy people