Mythological incest
Catullus 88
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9662686 |
|---|---|
| Authors | S J Harrison (Corpus Christi College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1996 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 581-582 |
| Publication date | 1996-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Classical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0009-8388 • E-ISSN: 1471-6844 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1093/cq/46.2.581 |
| OpenAlex | W2024725382 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 1 |
Here Gellius, also the target of poems 74, 80, 89, 90, 91 and 116, is accused of incest with his mother, sister, and aunt. This accusation is coupled with the only extended mythological reference to be found in the group of short Catullan epigrams 69–116:2 not even Tethys or Oceanus can wash out Gellius' crimes. This notion that large bodies of water are unable to wash away the stain of crime is of course a topos going back to Greek tragedy, but the individual naming of the two sea-deities seems to make a point—a literary point which is relevant to the invective of the poem
Art · Art history · Aunt · False accusation · Literature · Mythology · Poetry · Sister · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · Law · Organic Chemistry Synthesis Methods · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |