num_pages: 272
description: Jack the Ripper. Jeffrey Dahmer. John Wayne Gacy. Locusta of Gaul. If that last name doesnt seem to fit with the others its likely because our modern society largely believes that serial killers are a recent phenomenon. Not so argues Debbie Feltonin fact theres ample evidence to show that serial killers stalked the ancient world just as they do the modern one. Felton brings this evidence to light in Monsters and Monarchs  and in doing so forces us to rethink the assumption that serial killers arise from problems unique to modern society. Exploring a trove of stories from classical antiquity she uncovers mythological monsters and human criminals that fit many serial killer the highway killers confronted by the Greek hero Theseus such as Procrustes who tortured and mutilated their victims; the Sphinx or strangler from the story of Oedipus; child-killing demons and witches which could explain abnormal infant deaths; and historical figures such as Locusta of Gaul the most notorious poisoner in the early Roman Empire. Redefining our understanding of serial killers and their origins Monsters and Monarchs changes how we view both ancient Greek and Roman society and the modern-day killers whose stories still captivate the public today.
language: English
title: Monsters and Monarchs: Serial Killers in Classical Myth and History
publisher: University of Texas Press