Articles

The Poetics of Mutilation in Apuleius’ Tale of Thelyphron (Met. 2,21-30)

Authors

  • Stelios Panayotakis
  • Athanasios Papadimitriou
  • Eva Gemenetzi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21827/an.18.38676

Abstract

This paper discusses the episode of Thelyphron in the second book of Apuleius’ Metamorphoses and explores the significance of the recurring references to the bodily parts of the narrator/hero Thelyphron in the tale, pointing out their centrality, intertextual connections, and metaliterary function in the narrative. We argue that the processes of mutilation and prosthesis regarding the hero’s face correspond to the multifaceted literary character of the tale, and we discuss how the intertextual background of the above-mentioned physical change raises questions about literary composition and artistic creation.

Author Biographies

Stelios Panayotakis

Stelios Panayotakis is Professor in Classics at the University of Crete. His research interests include Greek and Latin fiction, late Latin language and literature, and the reception of the ancient novel in hagiography and in opera. He has published several articles and book-chapters on Apuleius’ novel and on the Historia Apollonii regis Tyri as well as a large-scale commentary on that text (De Gruyter, 2012).

Athanasios Papadimitriou

Eva Gemenetzi and Athanasios Papadimitriou are currently post-doctoral research fellows at the University of Crete and their research focuses on body, art, and literary aesthetics in Petronius and Apuleius, respectively. 

Eva Gemenetzi

Eva Gemenetzi and Athanasios Papadimitriou are currently post-doctoral research fellows at the University of Crete and their research focuses on body, art, and literary aesthetics in Petronius and Apuleius, respectively. 

Published

2022-05-13

Issue

2022: AN 18

Section

Articles
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