Mimetic Contagion: Art and Artifice in Terence's Eunuch (Oxford Studies in Ancient Culture & Representation)

When we are confronted with a work of art, what is its effect on us? In contrast to post-Enlightenment conceptions, which tend to restrict themselves to aesthetic or discursive responses, the ancient Greeks and Romans often conceived works of art as having a more dynamic effect on their viewers, inspiring them to direct imitation of what they saw represented. This notion of 'mimetic contagion' was a persistent and widespread mode of framing response to art across the ancient world, discernible in both popular and elevated cultural forms, yet deployed differently in various historical contexts; it is only under the specificity of a particular cultural moment's concerns that it becomes most useful as a lens for understanding how that culture is attempting to negotiate the problems of representation. After framing the phenomenon in terms general enough to be applicable across many periods, literary genres, and artistic media, this volume takes a particular literary work, Terence's __Eunuch__, as a starting point, both as a vivid example of this extensive pattern, and as a case study situating use of the motif within the peculiarities of a particular historical moment, in this case mid-second-century BC Rome and its anxieties about the power of art. One of the features of mimetic contagion frequently noted in this study is its capacity to render the operation of a particular work of art an emblem for the effect of representation more generally, and this is certainly the case in the __Eunuch__, whereby the painting at the centre of the play functions as a metatheatrical figure for the dynamics of mimesis throughout, illustrating how the concept may function as the key to a particular literary work. Although mimetic contagion is only one available Greco-Roman strategy for understanding the power of art, by offering an extended reading of a single work of literature through this lens, this volume demonstrates what ramifications closer attention to it might have for modern readers and literary criticism. The Ancient Greeks And Romans Sometimes Conceived Of Works Of Art Having A Dynamic Effect On Viewers, Inspiring Them To Direct Imitation Of What They Saw Represented. This ‘mimetic Contagion’ Might Operate Alongside Aesthetic Or Rational Communication In Art And Was In Some Cases Integral To How Mimesis Itself Was Conceptualized. This Book Explores Mimetic Contagion As A Widespread Discursive Pattern Across The Ancient World, Discernible In Both Popular And Elevated Cultural Forms, But It Also Situates This Phenomenon Within A Particular Historical Moment, Mid-second Century Bce Rome, To See Which Aspects Of Mimetic Contagion Emerge As Most Salient In The Culture That Produced The Final Flourishing Of Roman Comedy. Terence’s Eunuch Provides A Particularly Vivid Instance Of Mimetic Contagion, One The Reader Is Now In A Position To Recognize And Appreciate Both As An Example Of A Very Extensive Pattern Across Antiquity And Within Its Specific Historical Context. As With Several Other Literary Examples Considered In This Book, The Instance Of Mimetic Contagion In The Eunuch Readily Serves As A Figure For Mimetic Representation Within The Work More Generally. Thus The Painting At The Centre Of The Play Becomes Emblematic For A Pattern That Ramifies Throughout The Whole. The Book Expounds Mimetic Contagion As One Available Greco-roman Strategy For Understanding The Power Of Art, And Offers An Extended Reading Of A Single Work Of Literature To Show What Closer Attention To This Strategy Might Mean For Modern Readers. Judging Chaerea: The Role Of The Painting -- Quickening Images: Mimetic Contagion In Cultic And Erotic Art -- Lilfelike Likeness: Mimetic Contagion In The Philosophic Tradition -- Mimetic Contagion In Terence's Rome -- Mimic Rape: Genre Switching And Role Confusion -- The Poetics Of Contamination. Robert Germany. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.