Abstract

Patricia Cox Miller has shown how Jerome’s ambivalent Christian desert is encapsulated in the Vita Pauli by the mythological centaur and satyr, creatures that were both hypersexual threats and helpful guides. This note suggests that Jerome uses the she-wolf (lupa) in a similar way. The lupa’s association in Roman culture with the prostitute suggests, on the one hand, the erotic dangers of Antony’s relationship with Paul. On the other hand, its role in Rome’s foundation myth also implies nurture and the regenerative capabilities of monastic life.

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