Spinning Fates and the Song of the Loom: The Use of Textiles, Clothing and Cloth Production As Metaphor, Symbol and Narrative Device in Greek and Latin Literature - Couverture souple

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 178925986X ISBN 13 : 9781789259865

Editeur : Oxbow Books, 2023

Synopsis

Textile imagery is pervasive in classical literature. An awareness of the craft and technology of weaving and spinning, of the production and consumption of clothing items, and of the social and religious significance of garments is key to the appreciation of how textile and cloth metaphors work as literary devices, their suitability to conceptualize human activities and represent cosmic realities, and their potential to evoke symbolic associations and generic expectations.

Spanning mainly Greek and Latin poetic genres, yet encompassing comparative evidence from other Indo-European languages and literature, these 18 chapters draw a various yet consistent picture of the literary exploitation of the imagery, concepts and symbolism of ancient textiles and clothing. Topics include refreshing readings of tragic instances of deadly peploi and fatal fabrics situate them within a Near Eastern tradition of curse as garment, explore female agency in the narrative of their production, and argue for broader symbolic implications of textile-making within the sphere of natural wealth The concepts and technological principles of ancient weaving emerge as cognitive patterns that, by means of analogy rather than metaphor, are reflected in early Greek mathematic and logical thinking, and in archaic poetics. The significance of weaving technology in early philosophical conceptions of cosmic order is revived by Lucretius' account of atomic compound structure, where he makes extensive use of textile imagery, whilst clothing imagery is at the center of the sustained intertextual strategy built by Statius in his epic poem, where recurrent cloaks activate a multilayered poetic memory.

A propos du livre

À propos des auteurs

Mary Harlow is Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Leicester.

Marie-Louise Nosch is Director of the Danish National Research Foundation's Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen and Research Professor at the SAXO Institute, University of Copenhagen. She is the editor of many titles in the Ancient Textiles series.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Oxbow Books
• Date d'édition: 2023
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 178925986X
• ISBN 13: 9781789259865
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 360
• Éditeur: Fanfani Giovanni, Harlow Mary, Nosch Marie-Louise
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible