Monster Books - Part 2

The Institute of Classical Studies is holding a free public event entitled Why do we need monsters? on Tuesday 17^th October. In honour of this, we went on a heroic hunt for the monsters, beasts and demons hidden away in our library. The fruits of our Herculean labours can be found below - whether you’re interested in art, literature, language or history, there’s something for you. In case you missed part 1, you can find it here.

Monsters and monstrosity in Augustan poetry, Lowe, D

Dr Lowe looks at how poets, such as Ovid and Virgil, reinvented the monsters of Greek myth to explore political, social and aesthetic developments in Rome. The monsters discussed include the Centaurs and the Minotaur in their role as hyper-masculine, brutish beast-men, and the desirable, but dangerous, Medusa. Dr Lowe will be speaking at the Why do we need Monsters? event on ‘Real monsters in ancient Rome’, so why not go along to hear more?

Mythical monsters in classical literature, Murgatroyd, P

Want to know more about Sirens, Cyclopes and Vampires? This book covers the representation of all your favourite monsters in literature, from the ancient world all the way up the to the 21^st century.

Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible (DDD), van der Toorn et al. (eds.)

This reference book details the gods, demons, angels, spirits and semi-divine heroes who feature in the bible. The entries include discussions of the name’s meaning and etymology; the individual’s role outside the bible; the individual’s role in Biblical texts; bibliographical information.

The fish-tailed monster in Greek and Etruscan art, Shepard, K

In this book, Shepard discusses the depiction of the merman, the hippocamp and the ketos in Greek and Etruscan art across a range of media, including tomb paintings, jewellery and monuments.

The animal part: human and other animals in the poetic imagination, Payne, M

This book examines how verse writers, from antiquity to the present day, have explored animal experiences and suffering, and communicated them to a very different kind of beast in their human audience.