Qu’est-ce qu’un nuage ? Hélène et la matière des rêves

What is a cloud ? In Euripides’Helen, the heroin switched roles with a Helen-like cloud. This supernatural creature being carved out of a cloud has long been overlooked, as if the « cloud » were a mere synonymous for « simulacrum ». We suggest to pay attention to this vivid metaphor whose genealogy brings us back to Homer and reflects the rise of philosophical thought : clouds may be the hidden bond between being and non-being, the primary material of fiction — such stuff as dreams are made on.