AUC PHILOLOGICA
AUC PHILOLOGICA

AUC Philologica (Acta Universitatis Carolinae Philologica) is an academic journal published by Charles University. It publishes scholarly articles in a large number of disciplines (English, German, Greek and Latin, Oriental, Romance and Slavonic studies, as well as in phonetics and translation studies), both on linguistic and on literary and cultural topics. Apart from articles it publishes reviews of new academic books or special issues of academic journals.

The journal is indexed in CEEOL, DOAJ, EBSCO, and ERIH PLUS.

AUC PHILOLOGICA, Vol 2017 No 2 (2017), 43–55

The Punishment of Tarpeia and Its Possible Iconographic Inspiration

Lenka Vacinová

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/24646830.2017.12
published online: 18. 10. 2017

abstract

The motif of the Punishment of Tarpeia is surprisingly rare in Roman visual arts. However, the surviving examples show iconographical unity and imply their common primary visual source of inspiration. The article is exploring the possible models considering the less obvious iconographical similarities and resemblances in terms of content found in the Greek art. The cases of the infamous intriguer Dirce and traitor Dolon are discussed, as well as the remarkable resemblances found on some images of the Death of Caeneus. While the latter indicates the inspiration based on free associations and the similar circumstances of death of the both protagonists, Dolon and Dirce seem to influence the creator of the iconographic scheme of the Punishment of Tarpeia in a more straight way.

keywords: iconography; Tarpeia; betrayal; punishment; exposure; nudity

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ISSN: 0567-8269
E-ISSN: 2464-6830

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