By Maria Arpaia

The book L’Urlo di Ecuba (Hecuba’s Cry) is a publication designed to reach a wider audience, aimed at establishing a continuity between ancient and modern suffering in the face of the universally shared horror of war.

Starting from the assumption that there is a substantial overlap between the past and the present in terms of the methods and strategies of warfare – starvation, slavery, and human rights abuses are common denominators of all wars – the book examines female figures from mythology in search of a consistent parallel with the contemporary world. The analysis focuses entirely on women, who have always been the primary victims of war: objectified, oppressed, and raped, yet at times also leading figures in movements to raise awareness and speak against injustice.

This book is intended as a tribute to women’s resilience: even in war zones where their role is socially marginalised, women journalists and activists manage to make their voices heard in denouncing injustices and to awaken public conscience.

The structure of the book is repetitive and methodical: each chapter examines a different female figure from ancient mythology (Andromache, Antigone, Hecuba, Iphigenia, Cassandra, Polyxena, etc.), whose story is recounted using literary sources – from epic poetry (the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Epic Cycle) to the tragic and comic theatre of 5th-century BC Athens, with some reference to historians…

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