Tarpeia
Subtitle: workings of a Roman myth
By: Tara S. Welch
Publisher: The Ohio State University Press
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Columbus
Language: eng
Number of pages: 331
ISBN-13: 9780814212813
Subjects: History and criticism; Roman Mythology
Description: According to legends of Rome's foundation, Tarpeia was a maiden who betrayed Romulus' city to the invading Sabines. She was then crushed to death by the Sabines' shields and her body hurled from the Tarpeian Rock, which became the place from which subsequent traitors of the city were thrown. In this volume, Tara S. Welch explores the uses and contours of Tarpeia's myth through several centuries of Roman history and across several types of ancient sources, including Latin and Greek texts in various genres. Welch demonstrates how ancient thinkers used Tarpeia's myth to highlight matters of ethics, gender, ethnicity, political authority, language, conquest, and tradition. This cluster of themes reveals that Tarpeia's myth is not primarily about what it means to be human, but rather what it means to be Roman. Thus Tarpeia's story spans centuries, distances, genres, and modes of communication.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (page 293-315) and indexes.