Proba the Prophet. Studies in the Christian Virgilian Cento of Faltonia Betitia Proba

The present study aims to deepen the critical understanding of the fourth century poet Faltonia Betita Proba’s Cento and its reception, a text of considerable historical and cultural importance. Not only is it one of few extant Latin texts from antiquity by a woman writer, but it is also one of our oldest Christian Latin poems; it is an early example of cultural amalgamation of the Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman exegetical and literary traditions in that it is almost exclusively composed with verses from Virgil’s Aeneid, Georgics, and Eclogues, but narrates key episodes from the Old and New Testament. The first part of the dissertation examines the various constructions of the author ‘Proba’ and their relationships to the reception of the poem. It was not really until the twentieth century that the medieval and early modern representations of the centonist as a learned poet or even as a divinely inspired Sibyl were replaced by a general notion of her as a failed and scorned poet. This metamorphosis corresponds to changing attitudes to her poem in general. The large number of textual testimonies from the eighth to the seventeenth century, and the predominantly positive responses to the Cento during this period, were followed by harsh condemnations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as the poem ceased to be regarded as proper literature. A pessimistic narrative emerged, based on speculation rather than historical evidence, saying that ‘the early readers’ rejected the Cento. Strategies to ‘save’ Proba were devised, and she was not seldom presented as a mother, wife and pious Christian. Despite the pervasive polyphonic and ambivalent qualities of her text, it was used as a source to reconstruct the feelings and intentions of the historical person Proba. Readings of this kind are further problematized in the second part of the dissertation, where a series of new interpretations of the Cento are offered. The first chapter of this part explores the configurations of the fictive narrator, whose authorial voice is fashioned as that of a prophet and a confessing believer in the preface, interludes and epilogue. In these ‘extradiegetic’ sections of the narrative, the Virgilian verses and voices are recycled as to form a new Christian confessional and poetic language. The last two chapters explore the hermeneutics that characterize her use of the Virgilian and biblical texts, focusing above all on the typological connections that are established. At one level, the Cento features reenactments of biblical typologies with Old Testament ‘types’ prefiguring New Testament ‘antitypes.’ But it also displays semi-biblical typologies, where characters and events from the Virgilian ‘hypotext’ prefigure the biblical ones represented in the Cento, and these connections are heavily exploited to produce foreshadowing within the narrative

Persefone : missbrukare eller missbrukad?

This article addresses the mystifying reinterpretations of sexual violence that we often encounter in the Nachleben of ancient mythology. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Hades' abduction of his niece Persephone is described with language reminiscent of sex slavery in the Iliad. The maiden continued to be represented as a victim of male and divine violence in Ancient and Early Modern retellings of the myth, but in Romantic and Decadent portrayals her innocence faded. The poppy, which is associated with Demeter in Ovid's Fasti, now came to dominate representations of her. In Algernon Charles Swinburne’s ”The Garden of Proserpine” (1866) and other creative receptions from this period, she is depicted as a queen of opium and a femme fatale. This process transformed the rape of Persephone. The aggression of Hades and Zeus is blurred as Persephone becomes not abused but an abuser, both victim and perpetrator. The change can be related to actual drug use among women of this period. The neutralization of Hades continued and increased during the twentieth century, as the blame was even shifted to Demeter. In psychoanalysis as well as in contemporary poetry, music and novels, Persephone prefers following Hades to the underworld over staying under the protection of her smothering mother. The article connects this retelling of the ancient myth to another modern myth: a daughter must allegedly break the bonds with her mother in order to become an independent individual. Empirical studies on daughter-mother relationships suggest that this view is mistaken. It is more common that young women feel that a good relationship to their mothers improves their chances of achieving independence.Reading Late Antiquit

Persefone : missbrukare eller missbrukad?

This article addresses the mystifying reinterpretations of sexual violence that we often encounter in the Nachleben of ancient mythology. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Hades' abduction of his niece Persephone is described with language reminiscent of sex slavery in the Iliad. The maiden continued to be represented as a victim of male and divine violence in Ancient and Early Modern retellings of the myth, but in Romantic and Decadent portrayals her innocence faded. The poppy, which is associated with Demeter in Ovid's Fasti, now came to dominate representations of her. In Algernon Charles Swinburne’s ”The Garden of Proserpine” (1866) and other creative receptions from this period, she is depicted as a queen of opium and a femme fatale. This process transformed the rape of Persephone. The aggression of Hades and Zeus is blurred as Persephone becomes not abused but an abuser, both victim and perpetrator. The change can be related to actual drug use among women of this period. The neutralization of Hades continued and increased during the twentieth century, as the blame was even shifted to Demeter. In psychoanalysis as well as in contemporary poetry, music and novels, Persephone prefers following Hades to the underworld over staying under the protection of her smothering mother. The article connects this retelling of the ancient myth to another modern myth: a daughter must allegedly break the bonds with her mother in order to become an independent individual. Empirical studies on daughter-mother relationships suggest that this view is mistaken. It is more common that young women feel that a good relationship to their mothers improves their chances of achieving independence.Reading Late Antiquit

Procne in Toni Morrison's Beloved

Sethe Suggs, the protagonist in Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, is often compared to Medea. The same analogy with the Colchian princess was often made by contemporaries in relation to Margaret Garner, the historical person on whose life the novel is loosely based. An enslaved African-American woman in the mid-nineteenth century, Garner killed her own daughter after being found by her former owner and was styled a ‘Modern Medea’ in the press. Despite Morrison’s dislike of the comparison as well as its obvious asymmetries, it has become so prominent in recent scholarship on Beloved that it tends to eclipse other elements of classical mythology in the novel. This article explores the hermeneutic productivity of reading Sethe’s infanticide against the backdrop of the myth of Procne and Philomela. Philomela Returns: Ancient Myth and the Public Secret of Rap

The Ethics of Motherhood in Plutarch's Parallel Lives

<p> </p> <p>This article aims to explore the ethics of motherhood as portrayed in Plutarch's <em>Lives </em>by conducting a critical analysis of selected passages that focus on the influence of mothers on their children. After an introductory discussion, the study is divided into two sections which focus separately on maternal relations with sons and with daughters. The article seeks to refine our understanding of the social and cultural norms surrounding motherhood as depicted in Plutarch's writings, specifically examining how the role of mothers in <em>Lives</em> shows women challenging limitations in Greek and Roman conventional gender roles.</p> <p>In <em>Lives</em>, exemplary mothers are not confined to the domestic sphere: they actively participate in public affairs and exercise influence over their sons who in turn emerge as distinguished political leaders. In Plutarch's view, the epitome of womanhood centers around mothering a son, with the ultimate goal being the son's commitment to the state. Within this framework, the virtues of an admirable mother are mirrored in those of an exceptional son.</p> <p>However, Plutarch's <em>Lives</em> also reveals a troubling dichotomy: while mothers of sons are often elevated, mothers of daughters seldom receive similar recognition. Lives as a rule lacks emotionally charged mother-daughter relationships. Rather than portraying mothers as positive influences on their daughters, he often relegates these relationships to the socially marginalized realm of hetairai. In Lives, the connections between mothers and daughters are primarily portrayed as stemming from necessity rather than mutual affection.</p> <p> </p&gt

The Ethics of Motherhood in Plutarch's Parallel Lives

Plutarch emphasizes a mother’s role, often superseding the father’s influence, in rearing a son to become a leader valuable to the state, whereas mothers of daughters are frequently marginalized

The Ethics of Motherhood in Plutarch's Parallel Lives

Plutarch emphasizes a mother’s role, often superseding the father’s influence, in rearing a son to become a leader valuable to the state, whereas mothers of daughters are frequently marginalized