Journal of Late Antiquity

Abstract:

This article explores Prudentius's identification of personified Vices as monsters in his Psychomachia. Noting in detail the corporeal descriptions of the antagonists' bodies, it demonstrates that they do not have monstrous, hybrid, or liminal bodies, but rather, for the most part, their features are typical of epic warriors and the attributes that are exceptional have allegorical significance. Prudentius paradoxically insists on the monstrosity of his anthropomorphic Vices to remind his reader of the true nature of vice (the product of the soul's perverted activity) and of the risk of mistaking vice for virtue. This article not only delineates the meaning of monstrosity in the Psychomachia but further unveils Prudentius's reinterpretation of epic tropes and expands our understanding of the innovative engagement of late antique poetry with classical expectations.