She-Wolf. The Story of a Roman Icon. - MAZZONI, Cristina,

the story of a Roman icon

KORTE INHOUD

''Lupus est homo homini.' (Plautus, Asinaria 495). This famous quotation, through its various translations, perfectly encapsulates the themes explored in Cristina Mazzoni?s new book. Man is a wolf to other men - as Plautus undoubtedly meant it - but a wolf can also be interpreted as a human being in particular circumstances. In both Italian and Latin the word lupa can describe a she-wolf or a prostitute, either a ferocious animal or a female human of voracious sexual appetites. This paradox has informed interpretations of the legend of Romulus and Remus since antiquity, where the she-wolf figures as animal, mother, and whore simultaneously, and the complexity and ambiguity of this formative being have given her long life as a symbol representing a myriad of concepts, individuals, and entities. Mazzoni sets herself the ambitious task of exploring the she-wolf in all her forms and interpretations, from the famous Lupa Capitolina to her appearance in modern art, archaeology, poetry, and literature. The organizat...
2010Taal: Engelszie alle details...

Categorie

Details

2010Uitgever: Cambridge University Press282 paginasTaal: EngelsISBN-10: 052114566XISBN-13: 9780521145664

REVIEWS VAN DIT BOEK