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The aim of this study is to determine how the role of Nature as an active participant in the affa... more The aim of this study is to determine how the role of Nature as an active participant in the affairs of human beings (in the represented world) evolved over time in Roman literature from the Golden Age to the decadent Silver Age, with its two fathers: Seneca and Lucan. In order to illustrate Nature’s various reactions, the author investigates the devices that were used by Virgil, Ovid and their two Silver-Age successors (and creative emulators) to achieve mimesis and thus allow their audiences to experience these reactions to the fullest extent.
Translation: Joanna Pypłacz AUTHORS: Anna Olszewska, Anna Sobańska, Beata Górecka, Zdzisław Piet... more Translation: Joanna Pypłacz
AUTHORS: Anna Olszewska, Anna Sobańska, Beata Górecka, Zdzisław Pietrzyk, Marian Malicki
Papers by Joanna Pypłacz
Studia Litteraria Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis 17 (2022), fasc. 4, pp. 241–253, 2022
The aim of this article is to reveal the connection between Cilissa's speech in the Choephoroi an... more The aim of this article is to reveal the connection between Cilissa's speech in the Choephoroi and the infamous speech made by Apollo in the Eumenides. The analysis shows that if these two passages are treated separately, the former would seem to be a comic interlude that has been randomly inserted into the text, while the latter would seem to be weird, convoluted and even downright outrageous. However, if they are juxtaposed and analysed together as two chapters of Aeschylus' explanation of the nature of motherhood, they become one sensible statement about the fact that mother is much more than a parent in the technical sense of the term. While the speeches of Cilissa and Apollo simply cast light on the issue of responsible motherhood and also on the harmful effects of 'outsourcing' the care of newborn children in ancient Greece, the fact that the link between these two speeches has been overlooked makes their interpretation very problematic, as do the failings of contemporary criticism, these being the anachronic approach and also the fact that translations are treated on a par with (or, sadly, given preference to) the original text, thus giving Aeschylus the undeserved reputation of being a 'sexist' or 'misogynistic' poet.
Biuletyn Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej , 2020
Euripides’ tragedy Iphigenia in Tauris is an interesting combination of something that today’s th... more Euripides’ tragedy Iphigenia in Tauris is an interesting combination of something that today’s theatre-goers would describe as being a classic horror play based on the motif of a childhood trauma (on the one hand) and – on the other hand – a cleverly designed metatheatrical study
of how the mechanism of (Greek) tragedy really works. The terrifying, cruel and murder-obsessed Iphigenia is at one and the same time a wronged, unhappy child imprisoned in the body of
a grown woman. She struggles with her pain by re-enacting her own unaccomplished murder in
a sinister „theatre within a theatre”, i.e. in the temple of Arthemis, where – among macabre decorations made from remnants of the bodies of those Greek sailors that she has slain so far – she
ritually kills any further newcomers from her homeland. An unexpected visit by her brother Orestes proves to be an effective remedy for Iphigenia’s distress. In this play, Euripides not only
enables his audience to achieve katharsis, but also – through metatheatrical means – shows us
exactly how a human mind is purged of dangerous emotions: as soon as Iphigenia stops concentrating on her own pain and starts to sympathize with Orestes, her mind is cured, and she is restored to a state of happiness. At the same time, the audience – who sympathize wih the characters – also feel a sense of relief. Iphigenia in Thauris is therefore a play within a play that shows
us how a good tragedy works.
Biuletyn Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej, 2019
This short article sums up the exhibition entitled Wien, Post Mortem, which I prepared together w... more This short article sums up the exhibition entitled Wien, Post Mortem, which I prepared together with Katarzyna Starzycka and which took place at the Jagiellonian Library, from 21st October to 11th November 2019. The exhibition aimed to show Vienna from a slightly different perspective as the capital of European sepulchral culture and the cradle of dark aesthetics.
The Edgar Allan Poe Review 23 (1): 83–86., 2022
Essays on Joseph Conrad in Memory of Professor Zdzisław Najder (1930-2021) I Eseje o Josephie Conradzie ku pamięci Profesora Zdzisława Najdera (1930-2021), 2023
Constat manes mortuorum in tragoediis antiquis saepe apparuisse. Poetis tragicis Graecis necessar... more Constat manes mortuorum in tragoediis antiquis saepe apparuisse. Poetis tragicis Graecis necessarii erant ut fabulam formarent spectatoresque exterrerent. Seneca manibus ad eadem aliaque peragenda utitur, nam quasi omnes eius tragoediae phantasmatibus abundant. Manes prologos dicentes, ut Thyestis umbra in Agamemnone Tantalique in Thyeste non solum historiam Tantalidarum in memoriam revocant, sed etiam, ante omnia, nequitiam suam ut pestilentiam in regia propagant. Non manes igitur, sed spectra infernalia apellandi sunt. Alii manes, ut Achillis umbra in Troadibus Laiique in Oedipo, ex Erebo ad terram adeunt, sed auditoribus invisibiles sunt. Crudeles, implacabiles poenaeque avidissimi, vitam dramatis personarum male influunt. Adventus eorum a nuntiis quasi epico modo narrantur. Nonnumquam dramatis personae in Senecae tragoediis visiones repentinas familiarium mortuorum habent, qui aliis personis invisibiles sunt, ut Laius, cuius spectrum horribile Oedipum in Phoenissis aggredit, Aps...
In duabus Senecae tragoediis, Hercule furenti et Phaedra, dearum vindicum contra heroes quos oder... more In duabus Senecae tragoediis, Hercule furenti et Phaedra, dearum vindicum contra heroes quos oderunt actiones hostiles ostenduntur. Hercules a Iunone invida persequitur, quoniam filius illegitimus Iovis mortalisque mulieris est. Hippolytus autem, qui Venerem sprevisset ferasque in silvis venari quam amoris corporalis deliciis perfrui maluisset, vindictam huius deae nolens sibi attraxit. Ambo heroes vitiis non carent, uterque aliam culpam habens: Herculi animus violentus et impetuosus est, quod Iuno iam in principio tragoediae animadvertit. Hoc vitium Iunoni invidae magno usui est. Hippolyti autem muliebris sexus odium amorisque corporei fortissima detestatio Veneri gravem contumeliam infert, sed simul iram eius satisfaciendam adiuvat. Iuno, quae aliquem modum Herculis affligendi diu quaesivit, naturam eius violentam unicum instrumentum efficax vindictae suae terribilis peragendae putat. Igitur visionibus falsis Luna adiuvante Herculis mentem opprimit, quibus deceptus uxorem suam fil...
Biuletyn Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej, 2020
Long before modern psychology classified and explained the five stages of mourning, the Roman poe... more Long before modern psychology classified and explained the five stages of mourning, the Roman poet Horace made an intuitive portrayal of these stages in his Ode I.24, which was written on the death of his friend Quintilius Varus. In this poem, Horace describes the consecutive phases of grief in bereavement – nowadays defined as depression, denial, bargaining, anger and acceptance – with remarkable accuracy.
Meander 74, 2019
Meander t. 74 2019 12 J.PyplaczNOWE POLSKIE PRZEKŁADY EDYPA I TROJANEK SENEKI
The aim of this article is to re-examine the links between Heart of Darkness and the Aeneid – the... more The aim of this article is to re-examine the links between Heart of Darkness and the Aeneid – the Latin epic which is already known to have served as the main hypotext for Joseph Conrad’s novella. The transformation of several important motifs – such as those of the sacrifice, white worsted, the ivory gate and, finally, that of the prophetic voice – reveals that Conrad has shifted the focal point of Virgil’s dark tale, placing the figure of the Oracle – who has been disguised and transformed in a highly sophisticated manner – to its very centre.
abstraCt. Pypłacz Joanna, " Gothic " elements in Seneca's tragedies. In the present article I dis... more abstraCt. Pypłacz Joanna, " Gothic " elements in Seneca's tragedies. In the present article I discuss the remarkable fact that many of the motifs to be found in Seneca's tragedies – such as a horrible death, a madman, an obsession or some supernatural agent – are also to be found in abundance in the work of " Gothic " authors such as Ann Radcliffe and Edgar Allan Poe. Indeed, these motifs are now commonly considered to be the hallmark of the Gothic genre. I also analyse some of the techniques which Seneca uses in order to arouse fear and stimulate the reader's imagination, comparing them with those used by Poe and other Gothic writers.
Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium, 2017
The present article discusses selected examples of the poetic means which Seneca uses in order to... more The present article discusses selected examples of the poetic means which Seneca uses in order to achieve the effect of synaesthesia in his tragedies. An analysis of these examples reveals that the poet makes the most of the Latin language’s semantic and musical potential and in doing so achieves quite spectacular sensory effects.
Unlike classic war epics such as the Iliad or Virgil’s Aeneid, whose heroes fight against externa... more Unlike classic war epics such as the Iliad or Virgil’s Aeneid, whose heroes fight against external enemies, Lucan’s Pharsalia tells the story of a civil conflict. This circumstance makes it virtually impossible to include any gods in the action of the poem, as doing so would require
them to take sides in the conflict, which would be highly inappropriate. Therefore, inspired perhaps by Aristophanes (or drawing on his own powers of invention), Lucan substituted the ‘traditional’ Graeco‑Roman
deities with the Thessalian necromancer Erichtho – who, though human, turns out to be more powerful than the gods themselves. Endowed with qualities that mirror those of the Civil War itself – as well as supernatural powers and a sinister kind of creativity (by means of which she destroys life in order to create death) – Erichtho proves to be the only appropriate ‘divine’ patron for an epic about civil conflict and – in effect – may be seen as an allegorical ‘goddess’ of the Civil War.
The present article gives a rough outline of Lucan’s use of alliteration by attempting to discove... more The present article gives a rough outline of Lucan’s use of alliteration by attempting to discover the most important functions of this particular rhetorical device in the Pharsalia. For the sake of clarity, the instances of alliteration that are found in the Pharsalia are divided into three groups: ‘Pure’ (of one and the same consonant), ‘mixed’ (of two or more consonants) and ‘combined’ (accompanied by other rhetorical devices). Lucan’s use of alliteration is shown to extend far beyond the achievement of an instantaneous sound eff ect at the level of a single line or even a single passage. In several cases, alliteration is used as a means of association in order to allow the poet to connect passages that seemingly have nothing in common. This in turn has leads to the conclusion that Lucan’s compositional scheme – based on allusions and association – is present even at the level of the phoneme.
The aim of this study is to determine how the role of Nature as an active participant in the affa... more The aim of this study is to determine how the role of Nature as an active participant in the affairs of human beings (in the represented world) evolved over time in Roman literature from the Golden Age to the decadent Silver Age, with its two fathers: Seneca and Lucan. In order to illustrate Nature’s various reactions, the author investigates the devices that were used by Virgil, Ovid and their two Silver-Age successors (and creative emulators) to achieve mimesis and thus allow their audiences to experience these reactions to the fullest extent.
Translation: Joanna Pypłacz AUTHORS: Anna Olszewska, Anna Sobańska, Beata Górecka, Zdzisław Piet... more Translation: Joanna Pypłacz
AUTHORS: Anna Olszewska, Anna Sobańska, Beata Górecka, Zdzisław Pietrzyk, Marian Malicki
Studia Litteraria Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis 17 (2022), fasc. 4, pp. 241–253, 2022
The aim of this article is to reveal the connection between Cilissa's speech in the Choephoroi an... more The aim of this article is to reveal the connection between Cilissa's speech in the Choephoroi and the infamous speech made by Apollo in the Eumenides. The analysis shows that if these two passages are treated separately, the former would seem to be a comic interlude that has been randomly inserted into the text, while the latter would seem to be weird, convoluted and even downright outrageous. However, if they are juxtaposed and analysed together as two chapters of Aeschylus' explanation of the nature of motherhood, they become one sensible statement about the fact that mother is much more than a parent in the technical sense of the term. While the speeches of Cilissa and Apollo simply cast light on the issue of responsible motherhood and also on the harmful effects of 'outsourcing' the care of newborn children in ancient Greece, the fact that the link between these two speeches has been overlooked makes their interpretation very problematic, as do the failings of contemporary criticism, these being the anachronic approach and also the fact that translations are treated on a par with (or, sadly, given preference to) the original text, thus giving Aeschylus the undeserved reputation of being a 'sexist' or 'misogynistic' poet.
Biuletyn Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej , 2020
Euripides’ tragedy Iphigenia in Tauris is an interesting combination of something that today’s th... more Euripides’ tragedy Iphigenia in Tauris is an interesting combination of something that today’s theatre-goers would describe as being a classic horror play based on the motif of a childhood trauma (on the one hand) and – on the other hand – a cleverly designed metatheatrical study
of how the mechanism of (Greek) tragedy really works. The terrifying, cruel and murder-obsessed Iphigenia is at one and the same time a wronged, unhappy child imprisoned in the body of
a grown woman. She struggles with her pain by re-enacting her own unaccomplished murder in
a sinister „theatre within a theatre”, i.e. in the temple of Arthemis, where – among macabre decorations made from remnants of the bodies of those Greek sailors that she has slain so far – she
ritually kills any further newcomers from her homeland. An unexpected visit by her brother Orestes proves to be an effective remedy for Iphigenia’s distress. In this play, Euripides not only
enables his audience to achieve katharsis, but also – through metatheatrical means – shows us
exactly how a human mind is purged of dangerous emotions: as soon as Iphigenia stops concentrating on her own pain and starts to sympathize with Orestes, her mind is cured, and she is restored to a state of happiness. At the same time, the audience – who sympathize wih the characters – also feel a sense of relief. Iphigenia in Thauris is therefore a play within a play that shows
us how a good tragedy works.
Biuletyn Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej, 2019
This short article sums up the exhibition entitled Wien, Post Mortem, which I prepared together w... more This short article sums up the exhibition entitled Wien, Post Mortem, which I prepared together with Katarzyna Starzycka and which took place at the Jagiellonian Library, from 21st October to 11th November 2019. The exhibition aimed to show Vienna from a slightly different perspective as the capital of European sepulchral culture and the cradle of dark aesthetics.
The Edgar Allan Poe Review 23 (1): 83–86., 2022
Essays on Joseph Conrad in Memory of Professor Zdzisław Najder (1930-2021) I Eseje o Josephie Conradzie ku pamięci Profesora Zdzisława Najdera (1930-2021), 2023
Constat manes mortuorum in tragoediis antiquis saepe apparuisse. Poetis tragicis Graecis necessar... more Constat manes mortuorum in tragoediis antiquis saepe apparuisse. Poetis tragicis Graecis necessarii erant ut fabulam formarent spectatoresque exterrerent. Seneca manibus ad eadem aliaque peragenda utitur, nam quasi omnes eius tragoediae phantasmatibus abundant. Manes prologos dicentes, ut Thyestis umbra in Agamemnone Tantalique in Thyeste non solum historiam Tantalidarum in memoriam revocant, sed etiam, ante omnia, nequitiam suam ut pestilentiam in regia propagant. Non manes igitur, sed spectra infernalia apellandi sunt. Alii manes, ut Achillis umbra in Troadibus Laiique in Oedipo, ex Erebo ad terram adeunt, sed auditoribus invisibiles sunt. Crudeles, implacabiles poenaeque avidissimi, vitam dramatis personarum male influunt. Adventus eorum a nuntiis quasi epico modo narrantur. Nonnumquam dramatis personae in Senecae tragoediis visiones repentinas familiarium mortuorum habent, qui aliis personis invisibiles sunt, ut Laius, cuius spectrum horribile Oedipum in Phoenissis aggredit, Aps...
In duabus Senecae tragoediis, Hercule furenti et Phaedra, dearum vindicum contra heroes quos oder... more In duabus Senecae tragoediis, Hercule furenti et Phaedra, dearum vindicum contra heroes quos oderunt actiones hostiles ostenduntur. Hercules a Iunone invida persequitur, quoniam filius illegitimus Iovis mortalisque mulieris est. Hippolytus autem, qui Venerem sprevisset ferasque in silvis venari quam amoris corporalis deliciis perfrui maluisset, vindictam huius deae nolens sibi attraxit. Ambo heroes vitiis non carent, uterque aliam culpam habens: Herculi animus violentus et impetuosus est, quod Iuno iam in principio tragoediae animadvertit. Hoc vitium Iunoni invidae magno usui est. Hippolyti autem muliebris sexus odium amorisque corporei fortissima detestatio Veneri gravem contumeliam infert, sed simul iram eius satisfaciendam adiuvat. Iuno, quae aliquem modum Herculis affligendi diu quaesivit, naturam eius violentam unicum instrumentum efficax vindictae suae terribilis peragendae putat. Igitur visionibus falsis Luna adiuvante Herculis mentem opprimit, quibus deceptus uxorem suam fil...
Biuletyn Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej, 2020
Long before modern psychology classified and explained the five stages of mourning, the Roman poe... more Long before modern psychology classified and explained the five stages of mourning, the Roman poet Horace made an intuitive portrayal of these stages in his Ode I.24, which was written on the death of his friend Quintilius Varus. In this poem, Horace describes the consecutive phases of grief in bereavement – nowadays defined as depression, denial, bargaining, anger and acceptance – with remarkable accuracy.
Meander 74, 2019
Meander t. 74 2019 12 J.PyplaczNOWE POLSKIE PRZEKŁADY EDYPA I TROJANEK SENEKI
The aim of this article is to re-examine the links between Heart of Darkness and the Aeneid – the... more The aim of this article is to re-examine the links between Heart of Darkness and the Aeneid – the Latin epic which is already known to have served as the main hypotext for Joseph Conrad’s novella. The transformation of several important motifs – such as those of the sacrifice, white worsted, the ivory gate and, finally, that of the prophetic voice – reveals that Conrad has shifted the focal point of Virgil’s dark tale, placing the figure of the Oracle – who has been disguised and transformed in a highly sophisticated manner – to its very centre.
abstraCt. Pypłacz Joanna, " Gothic " elements in Seneca's tragedies. In the present article I dis... more abstraCt. Pypłacz Joanna, " Gothic " elements in Seneca's tragedies. In the present article I discuss the remarkable fact that many of the motifs to be found in Seneca's tragedies – such as a horrible death, a madman, an obsession or some supernatural agent – are also to be found in abundance in the work of " Gothic " authors such as Ann Radcliffe and Edgar Allan Poe. Indeed, these motifs are now commonly considered to be the hallmark of the Gothic genre. I also analyse some of the techniques which Seneca uses in order to arouse fear and stimulate the reader's imagination, comparing them with those used by Poe and other Gothic writers.
Symbolae Philologorum Posnaniensium, 2017
The present article discusses selected examples of the poetic means which Seneca uses in order to... more The present article discusses selected examples of the poetic means which Seneca uses in order to achieve the effect of synaesthesia in his tragedies. An analysis of these examples reveals that the poet makes the most of the Latin language’s semantic and musical potential and in doing so achieves quite spectacular sensory effects.
Unlike classic war epics such as the Iliad or Virgil’s Aeneid, whose heroes fight against externa... more Unlike classic war epics such as the Iliad or Virgil’s Aeneid, whose heroes fight against external enemies, Lucan’s Pharsalia tells the story of a civil conflict. This circumstance makes it virtually impossible to include any gods in the action of the poem, as doing so would require
them to take sides in the conflict, which would be highly inappropriate. Therefore, inspired perhaps by Aristophanes (or drawing on his own powers of invention), Lucan substituted the ‘traditional’ Graeco‑Roman
deities with the Thessalian necromancer Erichtho – who, though human, turns out to be more powerful than the gods themselves. Endowed with qualities that mirror those of the Civil War itself – as well as supernatural powers and a sinister kind of creativity (by means of which she destroys life in order to create death) – Erichtho proves to be the only appropriate ‘divine’ patron for an epic about civil conflict and – in effect – may be seen as an allegorical ‘goddess’ of the Civil War.
The present article gives a rough outline of Lucan’s use of alliteration by attempting to discove... more The present article gives a rough outline of Lucan’s use of alliteration by attempting to discover the most important functions of this particular rhetorical device in the Pharsalia. For the sake of clarity, the instances of alliteration that are found in the Pharsalia are divided into three groups: ‘Pure’ (of one and the same consonant), ‘mixed’ (of two or more consonants) and ‘combined’ (accompanied by other rhetorical devices). Lucan’s use of alliteration is shown to extend far beyond the achievement of an instantaneous sound eff ect at the level of a single line or even a single passage. In several cases, alliteration is used as a means of association in order to allow the poet to connect passages that seemingly have nothing in common. This in turn has leads to the conclusion that Lucan’s compositional scheme – based on allusions and association – is present even at the level of the phoneme.
Redaktor naczelny: A n d r z e j O b r ę b s k i (Redaktorzy tematyczni: J e r z y G r y g i e l ... more Redaktor naczelny: A n d r z e j O b r ę b s k i (Redaktorzy tematyczni: J e r z y G r y g i e l (historia), M o n i k a J a g l a r z (bibliotekoznawstwo), Z d z i s ł a w P i e t r z y k (historia, bibliologia), K r z y s z t o f Z a m o r s k i (historia)
Pypłacz Joanna, Cyntia żywa i Cyntia umarła. Literacka gra z odbiorcą w elegii 4.7 Propercjusza (... more Pypłacz Joanna, Cyntia żywa i Cyntia umarła. Literacka gra z odbiorcą w elegii 4.7 Propercjusza (Cynthia -Living and dead. A literary game with the audience in Propertius' Elegy 4.7).
Nowy Filomata XX 2016 (1) 135 Sulpicja ELEGIE I. Wreszcie przyszła miłość, którą lepiej by było p... more Nowy Filomata XX 2016 (1) 135 Sulpicja ELEGIE I. Wreszcie przyszła miłość, którą lepiej by było przezornie ukryć, niż komukolwiek wyjawić. Ubłagana moimi wierszami Wenera przyniosła mi ją i na mej piersi złożyła. Dotrzymała słowa. Niech o mojej radości opowie ten, kto jeszcze nie poznał jej smaku. Nie powierzę niczego znaczonym tabliczkom, by nikt ich nie przeczytał przed mym ukochanym. Cieszy mnie, że zgrzeszyłam, dość mam udawania. Niech wszyscy wiedzą, że byłam z tym, kto mnie godzien.
This article attempts to show whether, and if so, to what extent, John Milton’s portrayal of Sin ... more This article attempts to show whether, and if so, to what extent, John Milton’s portrayal of Sin in Paradise Lost is underlain by Lucan’s so-called “Medusa excursus”. Scholars have shown beyond reasonable doubt that Milton’s depiction of Sin alludes to one particular English hypotext, namely Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene. However, although the Lucanian character of Milton’s epic is now generally acknowledged, the “Medusa excursus” has, to date, not been considered to be a possible Latin hypotext for Milton’s depiction of Sin.
Leaving aside the indisputable similarities between Spenser’s Error and Milton’s Sin, the author shows that for all their apparent differences, Sin and Medusa actually have much more in common than it would seem at first glance. Firstly, both monsters are allegories of some primeval evil that, having set in motion a never-ending process of destruction, is portrayed as being a deadly, oxymoronic fertility that brings forth death instead of life. The morbid procreative prolificacy of both Medusa and Sin is triggered by a crime, which, once it has violated their bodies, renders them eternally “fertile in death”. While Medusa, having been mutilated by Perseus, posthumously “gives birth” to poisonous snakes, Sin, violated by Satan, literally becomes the mother of Death.
Although it is highly likely that the motif of monstrous fertility has itself been taken directly from Spenser, it would seem that Milton may also have been inspired by Lucan. The name of Cerberus, which is present in Milton and Lucan, but absent in Spenser, is a telling detail. Milton’s depiction of Death, which is described as being shapeless and similar to a substance, brings to mind Medusa’s poisonous blood. The subsequent rape of Sin by Death results in the birth of a pack of infernal dogs. This element also follows the Lucanian pattern of a crime triggering a deadly procreation by a wronged party.
Interestingly, Spenser’s depiction of Error itself contains certain motifs (for example that of “black poison” or that of the killing of a monster by a warrior) that are also present in Lucan’s Medusa excursus. This, together with some possible allusions to Hesiod’s legend of the rape of Medusa, as well as Ovid’s account of Scylla, leads us to conclude that the relationship between the discussed passages of Paradise Lost and their Lucanian and Spenserian hypotexts are quite complex, as they seem to reflect a process of elaborate contamination.
It is shown that Lucan’s depiction of Medusa may also have inspired Spenser himself. The connection between the portrayals of Medusa and Sin is not limited to the seemingly vague and superficial similarities that mainly concern the physical appearance of the two monsters, but is deeply rooted in the moral concept of a crime that triggers a perpetuum mobile of destruction. Although Milton and Spenser both share Lucan’s idea that one wrong leads to the “birth” of innumerable wrongs, only Milton consistently follows this line of thought by providing his monster with horrendous procreative powers that are also eternal and (literally) deadly. Seen against the background of Milton’s familiarity with the work and ideas of the Roman poet, it would seem that all the similarities between Sin and Medusa are far too striking to be attributable to mere coincidence.