The vulva of Attis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20318/arys.2019.4796Keywords:
Androgyny, Attis, Cibeles, Phrygia, vulvaAbstract
The iconography of Attis’ clothing is varied. One of the most characteristic types is the image of the god with the open dress showing often his sex. The way the tunic is opened leaves no doubt: it represents a vulva. It is suggesting imagining that this form alludes to the moment of the myth whereby the castration takes place. Catullus’s Carmen 63 is a good propaedeutic material for the problem. Beyond the verification of the sexual ambiguity of the emasculated god, the interesting point in this case is that the ambiguity is resolved by means of an ideological mechanism of opposition of opposites: what is not clearly virile, seems feminine. Consequently, the representation of the clothing is used to resolve a conflict generated in the observers who badly endure generic lack of definition: the loss of the male sex is clothed with the female genital mark.Downloads
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Additional Files
- Lista de imágenes (Spanish)
- Anexo: Atis con túnica abierta (Spanish)
- Fig. 1. Estela de El Pireo (Spanish)
- Fig. 2. Atis de Ostia (Spanish)
- Fig. 3. Patera de Parabiago (Spanish)
- Fig. 4. Thymaterion del Louvre (Spanish)
- Fig. 5.1. Atis de Maastricht (Spanish)
- Fig. 5.2. Atis de Asia Menor (Spanish)
- Fig. 6. Mapa de la distribución de Atis con túnica abierta (Spanish)
- Fig. 7. Atis del Palatino 1 (Spanish)
- Fig. 8. Atis del Palatino 2 (Spanish)
- Fig. 9. Atis del Palatino 3 (Spanish)
Published
2019-11-20
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Abstract1468
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PDF 1247
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Lista de imágenes 63
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Anexo: Atis con túnica ab...76
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Fig. 1. Estela de El Pireo 69
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Fig. 2. Atis de Ostia 64
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Fig. 3. Patera de Parabiago 62
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Fig. 4. Thymaterion del L...60
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Fig. 5.1. Atis de Maastri...65
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Fig. 5.2. Atis de Asia Me...67
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Fig. 6. Mapa de la distri...56
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Fig. 7. Atis del Palatino 1 51
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Fig. 8. Atis del Palatino 2 51
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Fig. 9. Atis del Palatino 3 55
Issue
Section
Monographic
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Since 2021, the documents have been licensed under the Creative Commons 4.0: Attribution–Non-Commercial–No Derivative Works (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Previous documents are licensed under Creative Commons 3.0: Attribution–Non-Commercial–No Derivative Works (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
How to Cite
The vulva of Attis. (2019). ARYS. Antigüedad: Religiones Y Sociedades, 17, 191-226. https://doi.org/10.20318/arys.2019.4796