[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review]
It has been a pleasure to review once again a work edited by Luis Unceta Gómez, this time written in English and co-authored by the New Zealand scholar Anastasia Bakogianni—a fact that already reveals the global nature that Classical Reception has, a quality it shares with the pandemic that confined so many of us to our homes and which may be considered the “seed” of this magnificent volume. The book originated in an online conference organized in June 2021 by Massey University (New Zealand), which brought together several scholars of Classical Reception under the title The Reception Studies: State of the Discipline and New Directions, and whose aim was “to discuss the state of the discipline (specifically Classical Reception, but the conversation extended to Classics) and the challenges our fields, and the Humanities more generally, are facing in a world that valorises STEM subjects and increasingly views the Arts as dispensable.” However, the editors sought to demonstrate that, even in the midst of the pandemic, “the Arts and Humanities are entirely necessary […] for our physical and mental wellbeing because they can help us make sense of the world around us” (p. 5).
This study is not concerned with high culture; rather, it delves into interdisciplinary collaboration and popular interpretations of the classical world, without losing sight of the challenges of the present—“challenges” being a word that, from the very title onward, recurs throughout the book. This is made clear in most of the sixteen dense and profound papers, distributed into two parts with three sections each: the first one, Re-Thinking Classical Reception, more focused on the media through which classical content is transmitted, while the second one, Classical Receptions in Response to Societal Challenges, focuses in seeking answers in the classics to contemporary problems such as “gender, race, ideological hierarchies, or disability” (p.11).
The first section, Concepts, Methods, and Intersections in Classical Reception aims to establish the theoretical foundations of the discipline of reception studies. Thus, Jesse Weiner’s contribution proposes introducing two new concepts or categories of reception—intervention and interruption—exemplifying them through a sixteenth-century translation of the first four books of the Aeneid, by a woman, Hélisenne de Crenne. The author describes this as “a radical intervention, or even interruption, upon Virgil’s epic” (p. 29), since her translation abandons the Roman nationalist background of the original, turning it instead into a “proto-feminist” manifesto by giving prominence to the suffering Dido. Interestingly, Weiner draws a modern parallel that involves no classical reference: what Hélisenne de Crenne did, she argues, is akin to what Chamillionaire—a contemporary Black hip-hop artist—accomplished when he used as the basis for one of his lyrics (filled with references to his own world) a well-known Southern song composed during the American Civil War. In short, through their creations, both artists subvert and unsettle long-established foundations.
For his part, Unceta Gómez’s article encourages classicists to step down from their pedestal and become aware of how antiquity is conceived and constructed in our time, especially by recognizing new ways of engaging with the classics, particularly through audiovisual art forms (p.45). These are characterized by their assimilative tendency, their porosity—that is, their ability to reproduce themselves across different mass media—and their possibilities for immersion and experimentation, all within a context in which classical studies are losing ground in curricula at the same time as public interest grows due to their presence in popular media. Thus, the author proposes “to rethink the very essence of Classical Studies and our function as scholars working in this field and living in the complex and plural world of the twenty-first century” (p.56).
Bakogianni, for her part, focuses on the archetype of the femme fatale—wicked and criminal, who attacks her husband through manipulation of her lover—represented by Clytemnestra, and how this archetype, more or less veiled, can be found in film noir. What is particularly interesting is that this archetype is especially relevant today: in these times of social and cultural regression, represented in the West by Trump and his followers (an analogy not in the book), reflecting on Clytemnestra’s figure helps destabilize the patriarchal prejudices of our societies. The author successfully connects tragedy and film noir, finding transgressive women in misogynistic worlds, toxic masculinity, family breakdown caused by migration for economic reasons, dysfunctional families, the Oedipus complex, and so on. At times, however, some parallels may seem somewhat forced, such as that between the sparagmos of Pentheus and the amputation of the hands of one of the characters in the films analyzed (pp.79–80). Bakogianni’s work reveals classical reception as a way of connecting elements of the present with examples from the past, while maintaining awareness that it is an evolutionary process that shows the past as a mirror of the present—but going a step further.
In my opinion, the first two articles in the second section, Working with Archives—which aims to demonstrate the importance of both physical and digital archival research in the study of classical reception—deviate somewhat from the main purpose of the book. They may be useful to those interested in uncovering the behind-the-scenes ideological struggles of postwar Czechoslovakia within the theatrical microcosm, as we read in Alena Sarkissian’s contribution, or in learning about the vicissitudes of avant-garde Greek theater in the twentieth century, as detailed by Gonda Van Steen. Michael Williams’s article, on the other hand, which studies mythological references in film magazines from the first half of the last century, does reveal the vast possibilities offered by digital archives and a well-devised online search strategy, encouraging us to take advantage of these tools ourselves.
The third section, Cultural Intersections, is one of the most enriching parts of the book, where the crossings of references are, above all, surprising. For instance, in Konstantinos Nikoloutsos’s article, the dialogue between grand Hollywood epic cinema and its modest Latin American parody is described as a “‘good’ reception” (p.172), opening our perspective not only to narrative and aesthetic elements but also to the ideological connotations that criticize the inequalities of our time. In short, the classical reception here mocks the monumental or hieratic classical reception, stripped of its most human traits. At the same time, Nikoloutsos insists that classical reception is not only an interpretation of original sources but also of other receptions, within a context that emphasizes issues such as race and gender, emerging from regions far removed from the Western world.
Zina Giannopoulou’s work, meanwhile, develops the idea that translation can serve as an instrument of innovation, breaking away from “traditional” outcomes by exploring new techniques that delve deeper into the characters’ emotions—as Anne Carson does with Cassandra’s pain in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon.
On the other side of the planet, certain manga authors demonstrate a deep knowledge of Greco-Roman mythology (and their ability to relate it to Japanese mythology), as well as of archaeology and history—a clear process of hybridization that also raises the perennial question of returning archaeological artifacts to their countries of origin. This is the foundation of the work by Amanda Potter and Guendalina D.M. Taietti, who conclude by defending this Japanese art form and its many benefits, which enrich the field of classical reception (pp.231–232).
The section Forming and Re-Negotiating Identities opens the second part of the book with an article by Amanda Kubic, who connects Classical Studies with Disability Studies, in this case through the artistic work of two women born without arms who find inspiration and visibility for their community in the Venus de Milo. This becomes a tool that challenges the canonical vision “about the form, affordances, and value of the idealized ‘classical body’” (p.245), which has also been linked to structural racism, sexism, and colonialism. In doing so, the author advocates for recognizing and giving visibility to physical disability and mutilated bodies, viewing the Venus de Milo not as a body beautiful “in spite of” its mutilation, but as beautiful precisely when seen through the lens of “disability aesthetics” (pp.259–260).
T.H.M. Gellar-Goad and Caitlin Hines argue that our discipline, which counts itself “among the most racially monolithic disciplines in the humanities” (p.267), cannot remain oblivious to the realities that surround us. Instead, it must address the personal concerns and activist interests of students, which could provide an opportunity to refill the empty university classrooms. To this end, they describe in their article the innovative methodology of the course Classics Beyond Whiteness, designed to encourage students to abandon passive attitudes and become critical and constructive in addressing issues such as social justice, race, gender, and white supremacy. The overflowing enthusiasm of these young people is admirable and enviable—they discover in classical authors and works the foundations for passionately, critically, and creatively engaging with their social concerns.
Bearing in mind the current complaints from conservative commentators about the supposed ideological agenda imposed by leftist, feminist, or environmentalist movements, Martina Treu’s article reminds us how, for decades, it was almost impossible to stage Aristophanes—with his fierce critique of demagogic and populist politicians—in an Italy governed by the Catholic right. Today, however, thanks to freer adaptations and the renewed importance of the chorus, a departure from the “stiff” conservative versions is taking place, allowing new audiences to rediscover Aristophanes.
In addition, the reception of classical theater, but in the pandemic context of the United States and New Zealand, is the focus of two studies in the fifth section, Greek Tragedy in a Time of Pandemic. The first, written by Meryem Deniz, examines two versions of Sophocles’ Antigone that give voice to protest movements such as Black Lives Matter, or pay tribute to healthcare workers who faced COVID-19—denouncing, respectively, police violence against Black people and the deaths of thousands who were denied even a proper funeral. The second, by Bakogianni and Declan Patrick, can be simply summarized as the story of how, in the difficult context of lockdown, a group of New Zealand students and their teachers managed to overcome the challenges of confinement to stage an online version of Iphigenia at Aulis, an experience that enriched them both personally and academically.
The book concludes with the sixth section, Engaging with Technology and the Wider Public, which focuses on how to bring classical culture closer to contemporary audiences. Hamish Cameron devotes his article to the video game Hades, which draws on Greco-Roman mythology, though not in a traditional or complete way. Players familiar with mythology can “fill in” the narrative gaps in the game, while those who are not are encouraged to explore these stories themselves. The game even accommodates rational explanations of certain myths, some of which, as the author notes, may have originated from a simple joke among colleagues (p.371).
Finally, Sonya Nevin’s article explains the highly original content of her Panoply Vase Animation Project, which is based mainly on the animation of figures depicted on Greek pottery. The project is aimed primarily at classroom education from early childhood onward, promoting collaborative work and creative development among students—and, of course, nurturing future classicists (as a secondary-school teacher of classical culture, I am already using it in my own classes.)
In summary, this is an excellent book that offers a broad and insightful perspective on today’s world and its challenges, always grounded in our understanding of the classical world—from which we can still draw valuable lessons.
Authors and titles
Introduction: Classical Reception in the Early 2020s, Critical Times and Where to Next? (Anastasia Bakogianni and Luis Unceta Gómez)
PART I: Concepts, Methods, and Intersections in Classical Reception
Section 1: Re-Thinking Classical Reception
- The Master’s Tools?: Towards a Politics of Reception (Jesse Weiner)
- Classics on the Surface: Classical Reception as an Emergent Process (Luis Unceta Gómez)
- Masked Celluloid Classics? Shadows of Clytemnestra in Film Noir (Anastasia Bakogianni)
Section 2: Working with Archives
- The “Advent of the New Rule”: An Oresteia (1947) in Prague and the Epistemological Limits of Archivalia (Alena Sarkassian)
- Karolos Koun’s Art Theatre, the Greek Dictatorship, and the Ford Foundation: From Handout to Handshake (Gonda Van Steen)
- Narcissus, Adonis, and Medusa: Troubled Beauty in Classical Receptions of Film Stardom (Michael Williams)
Section 3: Cultural Intersections
- Mocking the Hollywood Epic Canon: Parodies of the Classical World from Latin American Cinema’s Studio Era (Konstantinos P. Nikoloutsos)
- Suspended Temporalities and Classical Reception: Cassandra in Anne Carson’s Agamemnon (Zina Giannopoulou)
- Manga and the Power of the Classical Object: The Merging of Eastern and Western Traditions (Amanda Potter and Guendolina D. M. Taietti)
PART II: Classical Receptions in Response to Societal Challenges
Section 4: Forming and Re-Negotiating Identities
- Cripping Venus: Intersections of Classics and Disability Studies in Contemporary Receptions of the Venus of Milo (Amanda Kubic)
- Social Justice-Engaged Reception Pedagogy at Wake Forest University (T. H. M. Gellar-Goad and Caitlin Hines)
- Classics on the Italian Stage: Old Habits and “New Deals” (Martina Treu)
Section 5: Greek Tragedy in the Time of Pandemic
- Tragedy as an Open Network: Antigone in Ferguson (2016–) and The Nurse Antigone (2022–2023) (Meryem Deniz)
- “Where’s the Body?”: Performing Iphigenia at Aulis in New Zealand during the Pandemic (Anastasia Bakogianni and Declan Patrick)
Section 6: Engaging with Technology and the Wider Public
- Escaping Hades: Playing with Classical Reception (Hamish Cameron)
- Classical Reception Meets Pedagogy: The Creation and Uses of the Panoply Vase Animation Project’s Our Mythical Childhood and Locus Ludi Animations (Sonya Nevin)