Susan L . Haskins

Abstract: The key aspects and features of Tiberius as Princeps (AD 14-26) in which he fulfilled the expectations of a unique position are discussed. Some of the varied roles that Tiberius performed are highlighted. ... To cite this article: Haskins, Susan. Tiberius as 'Princeps' (Ad 14-26): ...

Abstract: The key aspects and features of Tiberius as Princeps (AD 14-26) in which he fulfilled the expectations of a unique position are discussed. Some of the varied roles that Tiberius performed are highlighted. ... To cite this article: Haskins, Susan. Tiberius as 'Princeps' (Ad 14-26): ...

In analyses of the Cupid and Psyche story from Apuleius’ Metamorphoses, scholars have been faced with the issue of explaining the presence of a prominent female character. The usual response has been to interpret Psyche symbolically, either as a mirror of the male character Lucius and his journey, or as an allegory for the Soul’s journey or for the myth of Isis. However, this approach of turning Psyche into an abstract symbol negates the very substance of the issue, namely her femaleness. By foregrounding Psyche’s gender and making a reading of the text specifically for aspects of her femaleness, her nature and character in relation to marriage and family is revealed as a dominant theme, and a key motivating factor for much of the action of the narrative. Fully understanding and acknowledging this allows not only for new and more integrated interpretations of Psyche, but also opens avenues of exploration for the interpretation of other characters in the novel.

Abstract:The Isis book (book 11) of the 2nd century CE Latin novel, Metamorphoses by Apuleius, is one of the richest sources for Isis and her cult from the Hellenistic-Roman period. As such, it is often used as evidence by feminist religious scholars who are trying to restore the divine feminine, a universal, all-powerful Great Mother, who is caring and nurturing, to modern religious sensibilities. However, in doing so, they have also often used this book without context or textual criticism, leading to a distorted picture of the divine feminine in modern scholarship. Such a project is not aided by the fact that there is no feminist reading of the Isis book in Apuleian scholarship. This study intends to fill the gap by making a gendered reading for Isis as a divine, but specifically as a literary construct. This is accomplished by examining the divine elements of Isis’s construction, namely her powers and how her powers interact with others, and making a gendered interpretation of t...

As part of the feminist movement, there has been an undertaking in religious scholarship to resituate the goddess within that scholarship and, especially among radical feminists, to recover the female element in the divine. One of the main goddesses from the ancient world to be co-opted to this cause is the goddess Isis. However, she is often used without context. This article puts her back into context.

One of the common methods for side-lining women in literature is to leave them nameless. This is the case with the woman in Jerome’s Vita Malchi. However, this woman is also vital to the narrative and the progression of the title character, Malchus. The aim of this study was to assist in giving this important character an identity by examining the many ways in which she is actually named, firstly in terms of the roles assigned to her, and then in terms of the associations that can be made between her and other people and characters from Jerome’s experience. Using a variety of literary techniques, including close-text, intra- and intertextual readings, it was possible to make many such identifications, turning the nameless woman into the nameful woman.

In recent years there has been a surge of homophobia across Africa. Among the arguments of this discourse against homosexuality is that homosexuality is a pattern of behaviour, not an orientation, that such behaviour is an import from the West and, as such, unAfrican. Paradoxically, this discourse also argues that homosexuality is against religion, where the religion referred to is Christianity, another Western import. However, one of the most dangerous manifestations of homophobia has been attempts not just to socially condemn, but to legally prosecute homosexual acts. Such legal persecution, especially in some of the former British colonies of sub-Saharan Africa, has been possible due to the presence within their penal codes of laws against ‘unnatural’ sexual acts. Many commentators have noted that these laws are themselves a remnant of colonial occupation and as such do not communicate African values. Nevertheless, they are being used to help justify homophobia in Africa. However, these commentators have not fully realised the implications of the origin of the laws on unnatural sexual acts. These laws can be traced back not just to Britain, but to the first codified laws regulating same-sex acts in the West, namely, the laws of the ancient Romans. This study examines Roman laws on same-sex acts and the consequent establishment of a legal concept of sexuality. It then illustrates how, due to the influence of these laws on the formulation of Victorian laws on unnatural acts, the Roman legal concept of sexuality underlies the laws which exist in many former British colonies. It also briefly outlines the effect of these laws on present-day sub-Saharan Africa. Perhaps understanding the ancient, alien socio-historical context of the legal concept of sexuality behind the Roman laws may assist in subverting the law argument of the African homophobic discourse.

The bestiality episode in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses (10.19.3-22.5) is unique in extant Latin literature and has generated interest among scholars as to why Apuleius included it. These studies have centred on the main character, Lucius, and the relationship between this episode and the broader theme of animal/ human duality throughout the novel. However, the function of the woman in the episode has tended to be subsumed into these discussions. The question of whether or not the woman of the bestiality episode is exercising bestial or human lusts is important in interpreting the women in the novel in general. She therefore needs a study devoted to her and the representation of her sexuality. This study will show that, in her case, her lust for an ass is human rather than bestial, and this illustrates the wider issues in the novel concerning the insatiability of female sexual nature and the dangers (from the male point of view) of female control over their own sexuality.

In analyses of the Cupid and Psyche story from Apuleius’ Metamorphoses, scholars have been faced with the issue of explaining the presence of a prominent female character. The usual response has been to interpret Psyche symbolically, either as a mirror of the male character Lucius and his journey, or as an allegory for the Soul’s journey or for the myth of Isis. However, this approach of turning Psyche into an abstract symbol negates the very substance of the issue, namely her femaleness. By foregrounding Psyche’s gender and making a reading of the text specifically for aspects of her femaleness, her nature and character in relation to marriage and family is revealed as a dominant theme, and a key motivating factor for much of the action of the narrative. Fully understanding and acknowledging this allows not only for new and more integrated interpretations of Psyche, but also opens avenues of exploration for the interpretation of other characters in the novel.