Scylla: myth, metaphor, paradox

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 woma...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hopman, Marianne Govers (Author)
Format: Electronic Book
Language:English
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Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2012.
In:Year: 2012
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Skylla, Fictitious character
Further subjects:B Homer Odyssey
B Monsters in literature
B Scylla and Charybdis (Greek mythology)
B Homer ; Odyssey
B Monsters in art
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Print version: 9781107026766
Description
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.
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
Item Description:Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015)
ISBN:1139208586
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781139208581