In the Flesh

168 PHOENIX Though obviously named for the man in a circle and square Vitruvius describes in 3.1, the “Vitruvian Man” of Oksanish’s title has in fact nothing to do with the Vitruvian figure famously rendered by Leonardo. It is not until Chapter Five, “Bodies as Behavior: Corpus architectorum,” that the figure he calls “Vitruvian Man” coalesces as a literary persona who is none other than Vitruvius himself, presented by its author as an ideal architect and citizen, equivalent as an ethical paradigm to Cicero’s ideal orator. Investigated here for its “diagnostic” value is Vitruvius’ story of the Macedonian architect Dinocrates, who, seeking work, presents himself to Alexander the Great as Hercules, in a costume which consists of nothing more than a coat of oil, a lion skin, and a club (2.pref). Although he turns out to be not much of an architect, his Herculean physique seduces Alexander, who decides to take him on. Lacking the advantages of Dinocrates’ magnificent body, writes Vitruvius addressing Augustus at the end of his story, it is “with the help of knowledge and writings that (he hopes) to gain recognition” (2.pref.4). In this, his corpus architecturae, Vitruvius offers the princeps the ethical choice of fostering a “Rome in which Vitruvian men or their opposites will thrive” (184). There is an epilogue followed by an appendix with a useful fourteen-page summary of the contents of De architectura. Many scholars have investigated Vitruvius’ considerable debt to Cicero, but no one before has—to the best of my knowledge—seen a link between Vitruvius’ “body of architecture ” and the would-be “Ciceronian” architect’s moral duty. Oksanish’s argument for such a connection, if tortuous, is ultimately compelling and, among other notable insights, is by far the best thing about the book. An insuffiently reworked PhD thesis , Vitruvian Man: Rome under Construction suffers from excessive annotation, obsessive cross-referencing, and lax editing; it also appears to lack a clear thematic trajectory. All this makes for a tough read, but the classicists for whom the book was written, most particularly Vitruvius scholars, should not overlook it. Concordia University Indra Kagis McEwen In the Flesh: Embodied Identities in Roman Elegy. Par Erika Zimmermann Damer. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press (Wisconsin Studies in Classics). 2019. Pp. viii, 336. Erika Zimmermann Damer se propose d’analyser la représentation du corps dans le genre de l’élégie érotique, en lui redonnant toute sa dimension physique et charnelle. Elle présente son livre comme un contre-point aux études des dernières décennies qui, dans la lignée des travaux de Maria Wyke1 , ont fait d’un corps désincarné la métaphore du texte. L’idée défendue est que le corps dans sa matérialité est l’élément premier de la construction des identités — de genre mais aussi de classe et de statut social — dans l’élégie. Pour appuyer sa thèse, l’auteure relit les textes de Properce, Tibulle et Ovide à la lumière du nouveau matérialisme féministe (notamment Luce Irigaray et Julia Kristeva), tandis que ces éclairages théoriques sont articulés aux discours anciens sur le corps et aux conceptions culturelles du masculin et du féminin à Rome. 1 Par exemple, M. Wyke, « Written Women: Propertius’ scripta puella », JRS 77 (1987), 47–61 ; ead., « Mistress and Metaphor in Augustan Elegy », Helios 16 (1989), 25–47. BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS 169 Le livre se divise en deux sections, dont la seconde me paraı̂t la plus originale et intéressante. La première partie (« Our Bodies, Ourselves ») consiste en une synthèse, organisée auteur par auteur, des représentations du corps du locuteur élégiaque d’une part, de la puella de l’autre. Dans le premier chapitre, Zimmermann Damer souligne l’importance de la dimension corporelle dans la construction de l’identité de l’amant propertien, qui place ses blessures d’amour au fondement de son identité générique, mais d’une manière métaphorique, tandis que dans l’élégie II, 34, Properce se caractérise par

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