Arethusa

Jenkins, Thomas E.
An American "Classic": Hillman and Cullen's Mimes of the Courtesans
Arethusa - Volume 38, Number 3, Fall 2005, pp. 387-414

The Johns Hopkins University Press

This essay analyzes the collaboration between the translator A. L. Hillman and the illustrator Charles Cullen on a 1928 edition of Lucian's Dialogues of the Courtesans. In particular, it demonstrates how a specific classical text served as fodder for those desiring a more open discourse concerning homoerotic (or otherwise marginalized) sexuality. Through both its quirky translation and its fantastic Art Deco images, the volume engages contemporary trends in classical scholarship and American publishing, as the ancient world is re-appropriated as a tool for contemporary criticism and change.