Spinning Fates and the Song of the Loom | The Use of Textiles, Clothing and Cloth Production as Metaphor, Symbol and Narrative Device in Greek and Latin Literature

Giovanni Fanfani (u. a.)

ISBN 10: 178925986X / ISBN 13: 9781789259865

Published by Oxbow Books, 2023

About this Item

Spinning Fates and the Song of the Loom | The Use of Textiles, Clothing and Cloth Production as Metaphor, Symbol and Narrative Device in Greek and Latin Literature | Giovanni Fanfani (u. a.) | Taschenbuch | Kartoniert / Broschiert | Englisch | 2023 | Oxbow Books | EAN 9781789259865 | Verantwortliche Person für die EU: Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, 36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr[at]libri[dot]de | Anbieter: preigu.

Seller Inventory # 125759209

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Spinning Fates and the Song of the Loom | The Use of Textiles, Clothing and Cloth Production as Metaphor, Symbol and Narrative Device in Greek and Latin Literature
• Publisher: Oxbow Books
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 178925986X
• ISBN 13: 9781789259865
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 188W x 247H x 21D millimeters 188 millimeters width by 247 millimeters height by 21 millimeters depth
• Weight: 1026 grams
• Seller catalogs:
  • Bücher

About this title

Synopsis

Textile imagery is pervasive in classical literature. An awareness of the craft and technology of weaving and spinning, of the production and consumption of clothing items, and of the social and religious significance of garments is key to the appreciation of how textile and cloth metaphors work as literary devices, their suitability to conceptualize human activities and represent cosmic realities, and their potential to evoke symbolic associations and generic expectations.

Spanning mainly Greek and Latin poetic genres, yet encompassing comparative evidence from other Indo-European languages and literature, these 18 chapters draw a various yet consistent picture of the literary exploitation of the imagery, concepts and symbolism of ancient textiles and clothing. Topics include refreshing readings of tragic instances of deadly peploi and fatal fabrics situate them within a Near Eastern tradition of curse as garment, explore female agency in the narrative of their production, and argue for broader symbolic implications of textile-making within the sphere of natural wealth The concepts and technological principles of ancient weaving emerge as cognitive patterns that, by means of analogy rather than metaphor, are reflected in early Greek mathematic and logical thinking, and in archaic poetics. The significance of weaving technology in early philosophical conceptions of cosmic order is revived by Lucretius’ account of atomic compound structure, where he makes extensive use of textile imagery, whilst clothing imagery is at the center of the sustained intertextual strategy built by Statius in his epic poem, where recurrent cloaks activate a multilayered poetic memory.

About the Author

Mary Harlow is Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Leicester.

Marie-Louise Nosch is Director of the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen and Research Professor at the SAXO Institute, University of Copenhagen. She is the editor of many titles in the Ancient Textiles series.