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Review of Roberta Berardi, Martina Filosa and Davide Massimo (eds.): Defining Authorship, Debating Authenticity. Problems of Authority from Classical Antiquity to the Renaissance: De Gruyter (Berlin/Boston 2020) (= Beiträge zur Altertumskunde 385), ix + 339 pp ., 6 fig. ISBN: 978-3-11-068455-1, € 129,95 (hardback; ebook also available)
No full textDer Artikel rezensiert den englischen Sammelband mit dem Titel "Defining Authorship, Debating Authenticity. Problems of Authority from Classical Antiquity to the Renaissance". Der Band versammelt sechzehn englische Beiträge zu verschiedenen Fallstudien über die Autorschaft, Zuschreibung und Authentizität Griechischer und Lateinischer Texte
Women philosophers and enslaved robots: automation fantasies and consent in Jo Walton’s The Just City
No full textWhen Athena and Apollo decide to gather children and intellectuals (including a good number of women) from different eras to put into practice Plato’s proposal of an ideal politeia, everything seems to be going just fine. However, problems soon disrupt the harmony of this quest for individual and social excellence. Through the literary depiction of interactions between various historical figures and schools of thought, Jo Walton’s The Just City raises a series of questions on topics of great relevance for our own world, especially those related to debates on fairer socio-economic ways of organisation and the struggle for social justice and freedom. This paper will analyse how gender, sexuality and social hierarchies are presented in this literary realisation of Plato’s Republic as well as the way Walton imagines ancient thought would deal with modern issues such as invisible and devalued labour performed by marginalised collectives such as, in this case, women and robots
Rezension von George Kazantzidis: Lucretius on Disease. The Poetics of Morbidity in ‚De rerum natura‘: DeGruyter (Berlin/Boston 2021) (= Trends in Classics – Supplementary Volumes 117) VII + 211 S. ISBN: 978-3-11-072265-9, € 114,95 (gebunden; weitere Formate verfügbar)
No full textUn-silencing the Girls: Critical Classical Reception in Feminist Retellings of Greek Myths
No full textIn recent feminist retellings of Greek myths, the Trojan War has become the preferred mytho-historical setting for reexamining gender performativity in the ancient world. The Iliad and the Odyssey are foundational texts for how Western culture has historically characterized heroic masculinity, and, in contrast, tragic femininity. Modern novels such as Pat Barker’s Silence of the Girls (2018), its sequel Women of Troy (2021), and Natalie Haynes’ A Thousand Ships (2019) turn the focus to the largely silent women of these epics. Through the voices of figures such as Briseis and Andromache, Barker and Haynes adopt a critical narrative of masculine ideals, including the glamorization of war and brutality, in order to highlight women’s endurance of sexual violence and victimization as a result of men’s pursuit of glory.
As this article explores, by enabling the once silenced women of Troy to voice their experiences of rape and enslavement, these three modern retellings challenge both ancient and contemporary notions of ideal masculinity while further highlighting the historical longevity of sexual violence against women as a consequence of men’s wars
Cassandra in a Time of War: A Reading of Marcial Gala’s Llámenme Casandra and Igiaba Scego’s Cassandra a Mogadiscio
No full textThis article focuses on Marcial Gala’s 2019 novel Llámenme Casandra and Igiaba Scego’s 2023 novel Cassandra a Mogadiscio demonstrating how both texts feature the mythological prophetess Cassandra in order to thematize conflict and social stigma in relation to colonial/postcolonial contexts and intersectional identities. More in general, my argument contributes to mapping the growing relevance of Cassandra in world literature and the arts as a key character for problematizing issues of social marginalization.
My argument is divided into three sections. Section one provides an overview of the contemporary reception of Cassandra’s myth aimed at showing that the two traits associated with this character (prophetic voice related to wars and social marginality) are the core elements driving such reception. Sections two and three focus on Scego’s and Gala’s novels. Gala’s novel features a male soldier who identifies himself as a reincarnation of Cassandra fighting during the Cuban Intervention in Angola (1970s), while in Cassandra a Mogadiscio the author herself identifies as Cassandra in narrating her family’s experiences during the Somali Civil War (1990s) and the migration to Italy.
By examining these texts through the methodological lenses provided by Classical Reception Studies, Queer Studies and Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, I demonstrate how the two novels work as key sites for the exploration of the processes behind the construction of social identities.This article focuses on Marcial Gala’s 2019 novel Llámenme Casandra and Igiaba Scego’s 2023 novel Cassandra a Mogadiscio demonstrating how both texts feature the mythological prophetess Cassandra in order to thematize conflict and social stigma in relation to colonial/postcolonial contexts and intersectional identities. More in general, my argument contributes to mapping the growing relevance of Cassandra in world literature and the arts as a key character for problematizing issues of social marginalization.
My argument is divided into three sections. Section one provides an overview of the contemporary reception of Cassandra’s myth aimed at showing that the two traits associated with this character (prophetic voice related to wars and social marginality) are the core elements driving such reception. Sections two and three focus on Scego’s and Gala’s novels. Gala’s novel features a male soldier who identifies himself as a reincarnation of Cassandra fighting during the Cuban Intervention in Angola (1970s), while in Cassandra a Mogadiscio the author herself identifies as Cassandra in narrating her family’s experiences during the Somali Civil War (1990s) and the migration to Italy.
By examining these texts through the methodological lenses provided by Classical Reception Studies, Queer Studies and Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, I demonstrate how the two novels work as key sites for the exploration of the processes behind the construction of social identities.This article focuses on Marcial Gala’s 2019 novel Llámenme Casandra and Igiaba Scego’s 2023 novel Cassandra a Mogadiscio demonstrating how both texts feature the mythological prophetess Cassandra in order to thematize conflict and social stigma in relation to colonial/postcolonial contexts and intersectional identities. More in general, my argument contributes to mapping the growing relevance of Cassandra in world literature and the arts as a key character for problematizing issues of social marginalization.
My argument is divided into three sections. Section one provides an overview of the contemporary reception of Cassandra’s myth aimed at showing that the two traits associated with this character (prophetic voice related to wars and social marginality) are the core elements driving such reception. Sections two and three focus on Scego’s and Gala’s novels. Gala’s novel features a male soldier who identifies himself as a reincarnation of Cassandra fighting during the Cuban Intervention in Angola (1970s), while in Cassandra a Mogadiscio the author herself identifies as Cassandra in narrating her family’s experiences during the Somali Civil War (1990s) and the migration to Italy.
By examining these texts through the methodological lenses provided by Classical Reception Studies, Queer Studies and Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, I demonstrate how the two novels work as key sites for the exploration of the processes behind the construction of social identities.This article focuses on Marcial Gala’s 2019 novel Llámenme Casandra and Igiaba Scego’s 2023 novel Cassandra a Mogadiscio demonstrating how both texts feature the mythological prophetess Cassandra in order to thematize conflict and social stigma in relation to colonial/postcolonial contexts and intersectional identities. More in general, my argument contributes to mapping the growing relevance of Cassandra in world literature and the arts as a key character for problematizing issues of social marginalization.
My argument is divided into three sections. Section one provides an overview of the contemporary reception of Cassandra’s myth aimed at showing that the two traits associated with this character (prophetic voice related to wars and social marginality) are the core elements driving such reception. Sections two and three focus on Scego’s and Gala’s novels. Gala’s novel features a male soldier who identifies himself as a reincarnation of Cassandra fighting during the Cuban Intervention in Angola (1970s), while in Cassandra a Mogadiscio the author herself identifies as Cassandra in narrating her family’s experiences during the Somali Civil War (1990s) and the migration to Italy.
By examining these texts through the methodological lenses provided by Classical Reception Studies, Queer Studies and Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, I demonstrate how the two novels work as key sites for the exploration of the processes behind the construction of social identities.This article focuses on Marcial Gala’s 2019 novel Llámenme Casandra and Igiaba Scego’s 2023 novel Cassandra a Mogadiscio demonstrating how both texts feature the mythological prophetess Cassandra in order to thematize conflict and social stigma in relation to colonial/postcolonial contexts and intersectional identities. More in general, my argument contributes to mapping the growing relevance of Cassandra in world literature and the arts as a key character for problematizing issues of social marginalization.
My argument is divided into three sections. Section one provides an overview of the contemporary reception of Cassandra’s myth aimed at showing that the two traits associated with this character (prophetic voice related to wars and social marginality) are the core elements driving such reception. Sections two and three focus on Scego’s and Gala’s novels. Gala’s novel features a male soldier who identifies himself as a reincarnation of Cassandra fighting during the Cuban Intervention in Angola (1970s), while in Cassandra a Mogadiscio the author herself identifies as Cassandra in narrating her family’s experiences during the Somali Civil War (1990s) and the migration to Italy.
By examining these texts through the methodological lenses provided by Classical Reception Studies, Queer Studies and Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, I demonstrate how the two novels work as key sites for the exploration of the processes behind the construction of social identities
Pat Barker’s Achilles: Excess of Manliness and Hegemonic Masculinity toward Self-Destruction
No full textIn this article, we analyze the figure of Achilles as Pat Barker rewrites him in The Silence of the Girls (2018). The first section intertwines the concept of hegemonic masculinity, developed by Raewyn Connell, with the two types of Homeric masculinities identified by Barbara Graziosi: proper manliness (ἠνορέη) and excess of manliness (ἀγηνορίη). By dedicating each following section to a specific character, we analyze and discuss how they are reinvented in Barker’s retelling of the Trojan War. We juxtapose Achilles as a representative of hegemonic masculinity to Patroclus as a representative of exemplary masculinity. Finally, we investigate the extent to which Briseis and Achilles undergo a process of loss of identity inasmuch as hegemonic masculinity is concerned
“Where normal people see Romans and Gauls, you see Ustashe and Partisans”: Rome in contemporary Croatian novel
No full textThe article employs critical discourse analysis to explore the portrayal of Rome and contemporary Croatian society in a novel set within the historic confines of Diocletian’s Palace in Split, Croatia. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Baudrillard and Debord, the study investigates themes of historical authenticity, cultural commodification, and societal critique. While the novel presents Rome as a multifaceted symbol embodying themes of fascination, commodification, and political resonance, its depiction often veers towards clichéd stereotypes and shallow commodification. Similarly, the critique of contemporary Croatian society, while ostensibly critical, often lacks depth, resorting to superficial caricatures. Despite its attempt to provoke introspection, the novel risks oversimplifying complex socio-political issues, offering limited substantive critique
The Golden Ass.: Il romanzo di Apuleio nel graphic novel di Milo Manara
No full textFor some time, the debt – not merely literary – that Western culture owes to Apuleius’ Golden Ass has been acknowledged. If the Metamorphoses, unlike other classical texts, have enjoyed a certain success in the landscape of the graphic novel, it is also thanks to the free rewriting composed by the Italian cartoonist Milo Manara (1945–). Devoted to erotic production, in 1999 he publishes his version of the novel, where he cuts, stitches together, and reinterprets many sequences of the novel. The contribution reconstructs the editorial history of the work and, by comparing it with its model, investigates its transmedial configuration through the analysis of structures, images, and language.For some time, the debt – not merely literary – that Western culture owes to Apuleius’ Golden Ass has been acknowledged. If the Metamorphoses, unlike other classical texts, have enjoyed a certain success in the landscape of the graphic novel, it is also thanks to the free rewriting composed by the Italian cartoonist Milo Manara (1945–). Devoted to erotic production, in 1999 he publishes his version of the novel, where he cuts, stitches together, and reinterprets many sequences of the novel. The contribution reconstructs the editorial history of the work and, by comparing it with its model, investigates its transmedial configuration through the analysis of structures, images, and language
The Lore of It All: A Female Twist on the Homeric Hero
No full textLore (2021) is a young-adult novel that tells the story of a young woman by the name of Lore, a descendant of the Greek hero Perseus. Once every seven years, the Greek gods are forced to wear a human form and be hunted by descendants of different Greek heroes in the deathly Agon. When a hunter kills a god, he becomes a New God and gets their powers. Traumatized Lore is forced back into the Agon to protect Athena and avenge her family’s murder. Bracken uses elements of Greek mythology and current trends from YA literature to create the heroine of her novel. Lore demonstrates characteristics similar to those of the Homeric hero while portraying her role as a 21st-century woman warrior, aka Girl on Fire. A comparison is drawn between Lore and the Homeric hero, with particular attention given to the masculine-feminine dichotomy
Agents, Goals, and Action-Choices : Analyzing the Game Histories of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece with the Historical Problem Space Framework
No full textThis essay builds on the Historical Problem Space framework for historical game analysis by comparing the ways that two historical video games set in the Archidamian War (431 – 422 BCE) present the past. There are three main goals. First to position the Historical Problem Space framework as a useful analytical method for practicing a historiography of historical games. Second, to offer more detailed examples and exploration of how two particular historical games present the past as historical problem spaces. Finally, to demonstrate that historical game genres shape the historical problem space of these, and by implication other, games and thus the history they present. Comparing two games set in the same period and place but with distinct genres should help illuminate these points