February 28th (Monday) at 1:20 p.m. on Zoom
Tea Talk by Prof. Hérica Valladares on work in progress: Viewing and Reading the Heroides in the House of Jason in Pompeii. The pictorial ensemble from room E in the House of Jason in Pompeii (ca. 10 – 20 CE), which features images of Phaedra, Medea, and Helen, has long been at the forefront of scholarly discussions about the reception of Ovid’s work in the early imperial period. In this paper, I argue that the parallels between the paintings from room E and Ovid’s Heroides operate in three different, yet related ways: their overall conceptual framework; specific references to Ovid’s verses; and a deliberate emphasis on the acts of reading and writing that highlight the materiality of the poems and the paintings themselves. In the context of this room, viewing and reading, painting and writing were set forth as analogous activities, inviting spectators to compose new mythological narratives inspired by Ovid’s own innovative version of these stories.
Join us on Zoom: https://unc.zoom.us/j/5621398375?pwd=cVFSd3BwYit4UUZ0c3QxQnBpVGlwZz09
Meeting ID: 562 139 8375
Passcode: teatalk