SIEME · Sacrificing Iphigenia in Early Modern Europe

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Цел на проекта

The mythological figure of Iphigenia, a daughter sacrificed by her father for political gain, attracted considerable interest in early modern Europe. This interest was kickstarted by Erasmus' translation of Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis (1506), but her story was also found in other popular classical authors, such as Ovid and Lucretius. The story was translated, referenced and retold by male and female writers across Europe. This project begins with three mid-sixteenth century plays about Iphigenia, written in French, Italian and English within about five years of each other (c.1549-1554). What drew writers in these countries to the story at this time? In investigating this question, the project will explore the story of Iphigenia as a myth implicated in the emergent formation of early modern national identities. At the same time, the figure of Iphigenia could speak across national boundaries, as part of the shared mythology of the humanist Republic of Letters. Setting the Iphigenia plays in a broader context, the project will move beyond the dramatic texts to map the wider-ranging references and associations of Iphigenia in literary and non-literary texts from the sixteenth century. This approach will elucidate the function of literary myth-making in relation to the ideological currents at work in sixteenth-century Europe (specifically political, theological and aesthetic), and how developing conceptions of national identity sought to define themselves within and against a shared classical heritage. Placing an urgent focus on representations of the sacrificial female body as the site of patriarchal violence, this project brings a freshly gendered dimension to the study of the formation of national identity. Using the mythography of Iphigenia to explore how local and national identities interact with participation in a wider European cultural network will shed light on intellectual and ideological developments which continue to shape the landscapes of today's Europe.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI VERONA · VeronaКоординаторИталия

Връзки

• Виж в CORDIS
• DOI: 10.3030/101281957