In 1862, Gustave Flaubert's novel Salammbô was published. The setting and plot are situated in a distant past. Carthage is a blind spot on the map of historical records. Precisely for this reason, Flaubert chooses this city. North African landscapes, city views of the maritime republic of Carthage, pompous wealth, and cultural artificiality in food, customs, and clothing, monumental battles, and gruesome images of war and rampant violence against humans and animals form the scenes of the new novel. According to Flaubert, "people of bad taste" are those who "beautify, clean, and delude themselves, who change, scratch, and take away" and yet believe they are classic. For Flaubert, breaking the normative view of antiquity means dismantling clichés and worn-out phrases and inventing new forms of language. This opens up new perspectives.