Dorota Rejter is a PhD student at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” and a team member of the Our Mythical Childhood project.
On the 1st February 2020 I had the pleasure to give a speech about the “Image of the Goddess of Hunting – Artemis (Diana) in Contemporary Children’s and Young Adults’ Literature Inspired by Antiquity” at a scientific conference “Cynegetica Over the Centuries” that took place in Hunting Palace in Promnice (Poland).
The conference speakers were presenting numerous texts, thanks to which we could get to know the hunting practice in ancient times and later, through the centuries. We were also focusing on the changing nature of hunting expeditions, that today are mostly interpreted and described in works of literature through the prism of ethics and issues related to ecology and the protection of animal rights.
The conference was organized by the research team which implements the project “Cynegetica in the Ancient World” (part of the Institute of Literature. Faculty of Humanities at the University of Silesia), as well as the Castle Museum in Pszczyna and the Polish Philological Society (Katowice branch). The conference was attended by guests from all over Poland.
Based on the study of the transformation of the image of mythological female characters in contemporary children’s and young adults’ literature (conducted for the needs of my doctoral dissertation), I chose some interesting examples of the reception of Artemis (Diana) and presented them to the audience. I focused mainly on the new contexts in which the authors decide to place the character of Artemis, on the metamorphoses of her image (including her modern attributes), as well as all the new abilities linked to her character.
In my presentation I analyzed the character of Sidney “Sid” Madison (modern incarnation of Artemis) from the fantasy series “Girls of Olympus” (2008) written by Italian author Elena Kedros, and the character of Artemis from the comic book “Artemis. Wild Goddess of the Hunt” (2017) by George O’Connor. Presenting this two characters I was trying to prove that Artemis in contemporary children’s literature is often presented as a modern character, detached from the ancient sources, and that her creations concentrate mainly on her strong personality, independence, her respect to animals, and her will to protect the nature and innocent people.
I would like to thank the conference organisers for the invitation, especially Dr. Edyta Gryksa and Dr. Patrycja Matusiak from the University of Silesia.
Read more:
- The official website of the Hunting Lodge in Promnice – link
- The official website of the Institute of Literature. Faculty of Humanities at the University of Silesia – link
- The official website of the Castle Museum in Pszczyna – link
- The official website of the Polish Philological Society (Katowice branch) – link
Post prepared by Dorota Rejter
All the photos were taken by the author of this post.
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