“Embodied Invective” and Identity Construction in Ancient Literature

This volume establishes "embodied invective" as a significant new analytical category for understanding Greco-Roman culture. Moving beyond simple insults, the contributors show how ancient writers strategically weaponised the corporeal self—physical traits, habits, and gestures—to undermine the social and moral standing of their targets. Covering material from early iambic poetry to Late Antique epistles, the collection examines how the body functioned as a rhetorical battleground where gender norms, ethnic identities, and social hierarchies were contested. By decoding these "deep structures" of abuse, the volume provides a systematic framework for viewing the human body as a primary site of ancient cultural negotiation and identity performance.