• Penelopean Simaetha: A Flawed Paradigm of Femininity in Theocritus’ Second Idyll

    Author(s):
    Thomas J. Nelson (see profile)
    Date:
    2020
    Group(s):
    Ancient Greece & Rome
    Subject(s):
    Classical literature, Greek literature, Homer, Poetry, Ancient, Greek poetry, Intertextuality
    Item Type:
    Book chapter
    Tag(s):
    Homeric allusion, Idyll 2, Penelope, Simaetha, Theocritus
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/yvkb-s807
    Abstract:
    Scholars have long noted the deeply intertextual features of Simaetha’s monologue in Idyll 2, including its Homeric, Sapphic and tragic resonances. In this contribution, however, I focus on an underexplored connection between Theocritus’ speaker and the Odyssean Penelope. I first highlight the Idyll’s pervasive engagement with heroic epic, dwelling especially on parallels with Callimachus’ Hecale and Homer’s Odyssey, before turning to investigate Simaetha’s attempts to fashion herself on the paradigm of Odysseus’ faithful wife. Through a series of verbal and situational parallels, I argue that she articulates an idealised vision of herself as the perfect match for the Odyssean Delphis. But as her narrative goes on to show, both she and her lover ultimately fail to live up to this Homeric model. In reality, she is merely one stop-off on Delphis’ merry rounds of love, more like the Odyssean witch Circe than Odysseus’ loyal and loving spouse.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Book chapter     Show details
    Publisher:
    Peeters
    Pub. Date:
    2020
    Book Title:
    Féminités hellénistiques: Voix, genre, représentations. Hellenistica Groningana 25
    Author/Editor:
    C. Cusset, P. Belenfant and C.-E. Nardone
    Page Range:
    387 - 405
    ISBN:
    9789042940697
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    1 year ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved

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