‘Virgil’s Camilla, Warrior Queen’

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May 18

‘Virgil’s Camilla, Warrior Queen’

18 May 2021 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Online Lecture by Dr Sharon Marshall, University of Exeter

Tuesday 18 May at 5.00pm (Online Lecture).

At the end of Virgil’s catalogue of Italian allies in Book Seven of the Aeneid comes the warrior woman Camilla, an extraordinary woman, inured to battle and swift enough to race the winds. When war breaks out again between the Latins and Trojans later in Book Eleven, Camilla proves to be the fiercest of warriors, volunteering to confront the enemy and tragically dying when caught off guard. Camilla is a figure who has provoked fierce critical debate, with scholars divided over where we should look to find Virgil’s influences for the Camilla episode, whether she successfully subverts gender norms or ultimately reinforces them, and how the episode resonates with the politics of the poem as a whole. In this lecture, Dr Marshall will suggest that the tendency towards antithetical readings of the Camilla episode are the result of a tension inscribed in the poem itself, from the very first book and, in particular, the image of another of Virgil’s warrior women, Penthesilea, the Queen of the Amazons. Questions and discussion will be welcome. This lecture will be held on Teams and it promises to be both informative and thought-provoking. It will be of relevance to all those with an interest in classics, literature, myth and/or ancient history. There is no charge for attending the talk.

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Details

Date:
18 May 2021
Time:
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Event Category: