Chapter 8 Objects and Things in Classical Literature
In: New Approaches to Ancient Material Culture in the Greek & Roman WorldSearch for other papers by Sarah Blake in
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Abstract
‘Object-Oriented Ontology’ and ‘Thing Theory’ situate objects within networks of relations in and through which they interact with other entities, thereby forming associations with real effects where objects and things are thus able to ‘voice’ their influence on the world around them in their own terms. This theoretical perspective opens new lines of enquiry in fields such as Classics since it recognises the function and capacity of objects in new or varied contexts. In this paper we first explore the relevance of Object-Oriented analysis for interpreting the material culture of the ancient world and, second, apply these theories to a specific context: material culture as it appears in Greco-Roman literary texts.
We analyse weaponry in the epic poetry of Homeros and Vergilius as material and enigmatical objects. Attunement to the materiality of these objects in literature allows scholars to perceive traces of the dynamic networks of agency, materiality, subjectivity, and representation in which ancient objects were situated.