Drawing on diverse analytical approaches—including recent developments in Monster Theory—the contributors examine how monsters embody fears, negotiate boundaries, and express social, moral, and cosmological concerns. Through close readings of texts, images, and myths, the volume highlights the narrative, symbolic, social, and psychological functions of monstrosity across different ancient traditions.
This collection invites readers to reconsider the role of the monstrous as a vital lens for understanding how ancient peoples made sense of the unknown, the dangerous, and the extraordinary, while constructing their own social reality.
Davide D’Amico, University of Lorraine, Metz, France; Luca Valle Salazar, University of Trento, Trento, Italy.