The Transvestite Achilles: Gender and Genre in Statius' __Achilleid__

Statius' Achilleid is a playful, witty, and open-ended epic in the manner of Ovid. As we follow Achilles' metamorphosis from wild boy to demure girl to lover to hero, the poet brilliantly illustrates a series of contrasting codes of behaviour: male and female, epic and elegiac. This first full-length study of the poem addresses not only the narrative itself, but also sets the myth of Achilles on Scyros within a broad interpretive framework. The exploration ranges from the reception of the Achilleid in Baroque opera to the anthropological parallels that have been adduced to explain Achilles' transvestism. The study's expansive approach, which includes Ovid and Ovidian reception, psychoanalytic perspectives and theorizations of gender in antiquity, makes it essential reading not only for students of Statius, but for students of Latin literature, and of gender in antiquity. The Transvestite Achilles. Gender and Genre in Statius' Achilleid (2005) ......Page 1 ISBN-10: 0521851459 (hardback)......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 1 - Opening Nights at the Opera 1641–1744......Page 22 Venice, 1641......Page 24 Paris, 1645......Page 28 Ferrara, 1663......Page 29 Rome, 1712......Page 33 London, 1733......Page 37 Vienna, 1736......Page 48 Naples, 1737......Page 59 London, 1741......Page 61 Madrid, 1744......Page 69 Epilogue......Page 70 2 - The Design of the Achilleid......Page 78 The Achilleid in the Silvae......Page 79 Coherence and Design......Page 83 Incompletion and Pathos......Page 86 The Abandoned Loom......Page 87 The Proem......Page 92 Secondary Inspiration......Page 97 Domitian, poeta doctus......Page 99 Flouting the Rules of Epic......Page 101 Scope and Scale......Page 104 The End of the Achilleid......Page 105 Achilles, poeta doctus......Page 107 Statius and Virgil......Page 114 Pride and Prejudice......Page 122 3 - Womanhood, Rhetoric, and Performance......Page 126 Stormy Weather......Page 127 The Wrath of Thetis......Page 130 Rhetoric and Maternity......Page 135 Thetis the Sophist......Page 139 Thetis the Pedagogue......Page 146 Naming Achilles......Page 150 Thetis and Women’s Speech......Page 152 Thetis the Prophet......Page 155 Deidamia Theorizes Gender......Page 158 Achilles on Stage......Page 166 Modesty and Surveillance......Page 173 4 - Semivir, Semifer, Semideus......Page 178 Achilles in the Subjunctive Mood......Page 179 The Power of Thetis......Page 181 Introducing Achilles......Page 185 Achilles’ Heel......Page 187 Achilles and Chiron......Page 191 The Food of Achilles......Page 194 Two Etymologies for Achilles......Page 196 Achilles at the Threshold......Page 202 Achilles and Castor......Page 205 Thetis at the Table......Page 208 Thetis and the Lioness......Page 209 5 - Transvestism in Myth and Ritual......Page 214 Euripides......Page 216 The Epic Cycle and Homer......Page 223 Transvestism and Initiation......Page 226 Cross-dressing in Ancient Ritual......Page 228 Cross-dressing in Rites of Passage......Page 233 Gender and Dress in Tribal Initiation......Page 238 Achilles and Initiation......Page 243 Inventing Ancient Ritual......Page 246 Cross-dressing on Scyros......Page 249 Myth vs. Ritual......Page 250 Initiation in the Achilleid......Page 252 6 - Rape, Repetition, and Romance......Page 258 Maenadism in Greek Myth and Cult......Page 264 The Bacchic Mysteries at Rome......Page 266 Cult Practice in the Bacchic Mysteries......Page 269 The Achilleid as Aetiology......Page 272 Achilles’ Castration Anxiety......Page 278 Rereading Ovid’s Rapes......Page 282 Statius Reads Ovid......Page 288 Tertullian Reads Statius......Page 291 Statius Rewrites Ovid......Page 295 7 - Conclusion......Page 298 Statius with Lacan......Page 300 The Name of the Father......Page 307 Biology and Biography......Page 315 The Destiny of Achilles......Page 316 Editions of the Achilleid and General Abbreviations......Page 322 General Bibliography......Page 324 Index Locorum......Page 352 General Index......Page 364 "Statius' Achilleid is a playful, witty, and allusive epic in the manner of Ovid. As we follow Achilles' metamorphosis from wild boy to demure girl to passionate lover to fierce hero, the poet illustrates a series of contrasting codes of behavior: male and female, epic and elegiac. This first full-length study of the poem addresses not only the narrative itself, but also sets the myth of Achilles on Scyros within a broad interpretive framework. This exploration ranges from the reception of the Achilleid in Baroque opera to the anthropological parallels that have been adduced to explain Achilles' transvestism. The expansive approach of this study, which contributes to discussions of Latin intertextuality, the early reception of Ovid, psychoanalytic perspectives on ancient literature, and theorizations of gender in antiquity, makes it essential reading not only for students of Statius, but also for students of Latin literature and of gender antiquity."--BOOK JACKET As we follow Achilles' metamorphosis from wild boy to demure girl to lover to hero, Statius brilliantly illustrates a series of contrasting codes of behavior: male and female, epic and elegiac. This first full-length study of the poem addresses not only the narrative itself, but also sets the myth of Achilles on Scyros within a broad interpretive framework. The exploration ranges from the reception of the Achilleid in Baroque opera to the anthropological parallels that have emerged to explain Achilles' transvestism. Statius' unfinished epic, the Achilleid, explores Achilles' mother's attempt to save her son from the Trojan War by dressing him as a girl. This first book-length study of the poem offers a detailed interpretation and explores questions of the poem's reception and of gender in antiquity.

offers The First Book-length Examination Of Statius' Unfinished Epic, The Achilleid.

P.j. Heslin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 301-330) And Indexes.