Classical Receptions and Impact of Xena: Warrior Princess

by Amanda Potter (Editor), Filippo Carlà-Uhink (Editor), Anise K. Strong (Editor), Martin Lindner (Editor)

Overview

Presenting a wide range of new scholarly approaches, this is the first volume to critique the highly influential television series Xena: Warrior Princess. Based on the online international 2021 conference on Xena: Warrior Princess, this book offers a critical overview of the series' ground-breaking impact and discusses why it has maintained its appeal.

Contributors from across the world include perspectives from classical reception studies, queer studies and fan studies to examine the influence of ancient Mediterranean mythology and history in the series and, in turn, how the series shaped the viewer's understanding of the classical past. Significantly, there are also studies of Xena's depiction as a barrier-smashing heroine, and an examination of how the series paved the way for portrayals of LGBTQ+ relationships on mainstream television. The legacy of the series is seen in how it has continued to shape modern views about classical antiquity and how it laid the groundwork for subsequent series and films representing the ancient world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350332416
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/06/2025
Series:	IMAGINES - Classical Receptions in the Visual and Performing Arts
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Amanda Potter is a Visiting Fellow in Classics at the University of Liverpool, UK. She co-edited Ancient Epic in Film and Television (2021) and has published widely on classics in film and television.

Filippo Carlà-Uhink is Professor of Ancient History at Potsdam University, Germany. His main research areas are the social and economical history of Late Antiquity, the history of the Roman Republic, the cultural history of ancient Rome, with a particular attention for space concepts and the construction of space, and the reception of antiquity in modern media. He is co-editor of Bloomsbury Academic's series IMAGINES - Classical Receptions in the Visual and Performing Arts, and editor of Caesar, Attila & Co. Comics und die Antike (2014) and, with Irene Berti, Ancient Magic and the Supernatural in the Modern Visual and Performing Arts (Bloomsbury Academic, 2015).

Anise K. Strong is Associate Professor in Classics at Western Michigan University, USA. She has published widely on classics in film, television and comics.

Martin Lindner is Lecturer in Ancient History and Curator of the Tom Stern Collection film archive at the University of Göttingen, Germany.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors
Acknowledgements

Introduction, Anise K. Strong (Western Michigan University, USA) and Amanda Potter (Open University, UK)

Part One: Xena, History and Myth
1. Xena and the Dictator, Avishay Gerczuk and Ayelet Peer (Bar-Ilan University, Israel)
2. Cleopatra in the Xenaverse, Trevor Fear (Open University, UK)
3. Xena in Britannia, Tony Keen (University of Notre Dame, USA)
4. Envisioning Helen of Troy, Bonnie Rock-McCutcheon (Wilson College, USA)
5. The Influence of the Tale of Cupid and Psyche on the Xenaverse, Hendrik Müller (Hochschule Fresenius Hamburg, Germany)
6. Xena and the Amazons, Laurel Bowman (University of Victoria, Canada) and Connie Skibinski (University of Newcastle, Australia)
7. Xena the Healer, Anneka Rene (Saint Kentigern College, New Zealand)

Part Two: The Impact of Xena
8. Xena and The Power of Friendship in Hercules and Xena – The Animated Movie: The Battle for Mount Olympus, Krishni Burns (University of Illinois Chicago, USA)
9. New Zealand Flexible Production Models and Xena, Lauren Steimer (University of South Carolina, USA)
10. Xena Breaking Walls and Genres in Television Musical Episodes, Anise K. Strong (Western Michigan University, USA)
11. Xena Mythology-based Fanfiction, Amanda Potter (Open University, UK)
12. Expressing Lesbian Identity Through the Voice of Gabrielle, the Bard of Poteidia, Sara Palermo (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain)
13. Xenites, Community and Activism, Tanya N. Cook (Community College of Aurora, USA)
14. Whoosh.Org and Xena Fandom, Kym Taborn (Independent Scholar, USA)

Afterword, Nick Lowe (Royal Holloway University of London, UK)

Bibliography
Filmography
Notes

Editorial Reviews

Written by scholars who proudly embrace their love for Xena: Warrior Princess, this book provides in-depth analyses of the show's creative reception of classical history and myth, its path-breaking production modes and its vibrant fandom.” —Florian Freitag, Professor of American Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany

From the Publisher