Aiora e oscillatio: altalene rituali tra paganesimo e cristianesimo

The paper presents an analysis of the possible semantic, gestural and ritual connections between the Greek concept of aiora and the Latin oscillatio. The Greek festival known as Aiora is associated with the oscillating movement of the swing but is also related to death by hanging and aimless wandering. By examining pagan and Christian sources from Antiquity and Late Antiquity, this article aims to reconstruct the possible link between the festival of the Aiora and a Roman practice known as oscillatio with its connected votive images called oscilla. In more than one context, the swinging and oscillating schemata that form the basis of dancing represent ritual movements considered capable of re-establishing order after a trauma.