Papers by Yvona Trnka-Amrhein
Le realidad de la mujer en el universo de la ficción antigua , 2023
This chapter explores the reception of the empress Plotina in three texts from three literary tra... more This chapter explores the reception of the empress Plotina in three texts from three literary traditions within the Roman Empire: the Acta Hermaisci, the Talmud, and Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. It argues that the Plotina character we see in these texts is based on an idea of the Roman empress’ ability to influence the emperor to the detriment of provincial groups. This ‘plotting Plotina’ figure is the opposite of the official ideal found in Pliny’s Panegyricus and may develop the suspicion we see in Roman historical texts that Plotina exercised improper influence on Hadrian’s succession. Indeed, the motherhood of the ‘plotting Plotina’ character may respond to the problematic childlessness of the real empress. In addition to exploring how provincial texts fictionalized a historical woman to articulate the powerlessness of being a Roman subject, this chapter provides an example of how one theme could be deployed in texts from different cultures written in the same empire. It thus offers a perspective on how a broad understanding of ‘imperial literature’ can inform our knowledge of connections between the literary cultures that coexisted under Roman rule.
Sesostris - Scheschonq - Sesonchosis: Ein internationaler Held und sein Nachwirken, 2024
A history of two unflattering episodes from the Sesostris legend: the attempted fraternal coup an... more A history of two unflattering episodes from the Sesostris legend: the attempted fraternal coup and the king-drawn chariot.
Scribe, 2024
A brief overview of the City of the Baboon Project's first year of work at Hermopolis Magna (Ashm... more A brief overview of the City of the Baboon Project's first year of work at Hermopolis Magna (Ashmunein).
KTÈMA , 2022
This article explores the Ptolemaic discourse of city foundation through the stories of ancient E... more This article explores the Ptolemaic discourse of city foundation through the stories of ancient Egyptian city foundation in Manetho’s Aegyptiaca and Diodorus Siculus’ Library of History Book 1. It traces how Greek and Egyptian modes of narrating urban foundations were modified to fit the Ptolemaic situation and argues that the example of Alexandria’s meteoric rise to prominence and the various reactions it inspired influenced the narratives that were composed for three ancient Egyptian cities: Thebes, Memphis, and Avaris.
Classical Philology, 2020
In this article I argue that P. Oxy. 5263 provides evidence that the fragmentary text conventiona... more In this article I argue that P. Oxy. 5263 provides evidence that the fragmentary text conventionally titled The Sesonchosis Novel was biographical in scope. I explore the implications of this suggestion for Sesonchosis' relationship to The Alexander Romance, The Ninos Novel, and the Demotic Sesostris narrative.
Music and Memory in the Ancient Greek and Roman Worlds, 2021
This chapter explores two strategies for preserving the memory of live music in early Ptolemaic E... more This chapter explores two strategies for preserving the memory of live music in early Ptolemaic Egypt by reading Posidippus’ epigram (37 AB) on Arion’s lyre next to Hedylus’ epigram (4 GP) on an automated rhyton in the shape of the Egyptian god Bes. While Arion’s lyre captures the essence of a classic but long-dead virtuoso in amber, the rhyton performs its song on endless repeat. I suggest that the automated rhyton, as interpreted by Hedylus, represents an attempt to create an eternal first performance of a type of song that could represent the Graeco-Egyptian Ptolemaic empire: a hymn to the Nile.
The Alexander Romance: History and Literature, 2018
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Papers by Yvona Trnka-Amrhein