Scylla : myth, metaphor, paradox / Marianne Govers Hopman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hopman, Marianne Govers, 1974- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Homer. Odyssey.

Homer.

Scylla and Charybdis (Greek mythology).

Monsters in literature.

Monsters in art.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 300 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

What's in a name? Using the example of a famous monster from Greek myth, this book challenges the dominant view that a mythical symbol denotes a single, clear-cut 'figure' and proposes instead to define the name 'Scylla' as a combination of three concepts - sea, dog and woman - whose articulation changes over time. While archaic and classical Greek versions usually emphasize the metaphorical coherence of Scylla's components, the name is increasingly treated as a well-defined but also paradoxical construct from the late fourth century BCE onward. Proceeding through detailed analyses of Greek and Roman texts and images, Professor Hopman shows how the same name can variously express anxieties about the sea, dogs, aggressive women and shy maidens, thus offering an empirical response to the semiotic puzzle raised by non-referential proper names.

Contents:

pt. 1. Scylla in the Odyssey: 1. The impregnable monster. 2. A poetic hazard. 3. The gullet of the sea. 4. Puzzles and riddles

pt. 2. Scylla in Classical Greece: 5. A feminine composite. 6. Scylla as Femme Fatale. 7. The untamed maiden

pt. 3. Scylla in Hellenistic Greece and Rome: 8. Rationalizing the monster. 9. Organizing the tradition. 10. Roman versions of a Greek name. 11. Psychology and re-semanticization in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1-107-23666-5

1-139-85421-6

1-139-84601-9

1-139-84513-6

1-139-20858-6

1-139-84277-3

1-139-84039-8

1-283-87093-2

1-139-84158-0

OCLC:

821611696