Mostri di confine. Il formicaleone e il serpente quasi umano

Anna Angelini

Abstract:

In this paper, I analyze the different cultural meanings that arise from the different versions of the Bible in relation to animal imagery. Through the examples of formicaleon ("Job" 4, 11) and aspis ("Psalms" 58, 5-7), I investigate the semiotic value of monstrous creatures in the Hebrew Old Testament, in the Greek "Septuaginta" and in Jerome's "Vulgata". With reference to Augustine's commentary ad loca, I show how cultural developments are dependent upon the translation and interpretation of the biblical bestiary.