Ancora sull'immaginario archetipo delle Istituzioni di Gaio

The Author in a previous study subjected to criticism the hypothesis that the Institutes of Gaius are a mere reworking of someone else’s manual, the so-called Gaius’ archetype. However, very recently an intervention of Pierfrancesco Arces has appeared that, in direct opposition to the aforementioned study, aims to reaffirm such a hypothesis. In the present article, the Author replies to this scholar’s intervention, showing that the clues adduced by the latter are unable to support the existence of the archetype.