Myth in the Ancient World
Published on 31. May 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
IX, 389 pages
978-1-4202-5686-4 (ISBN)
Description
Myth in the Ancient World provides a complete introduction to this important field of study. It contains a selection of readings from ancient texts and a comprehensive glossary designed for readers meeting the people and places of the ancient world for the first time.
The book asks what a myth is and how it differs from other narratives, such as legends and folktales. It also looks at interpretations of meaning in mythology.
The focus is on Ancient Greek myth, but Roman reinterpretation of Greek stories and the invention of Roman myth are also discussed. Texts from Egypt, the peoples of Mesopotamia, and the Jewish traditions found in the Bible broaden the context and deepen our understanding of myth. The book examines the relevance of key themes to the cultures in which the myths arose or in which they were adapted and retold. Looking at the reflection of the ancient world through myth helps us to identify important religious, social and political aspects of ancient cultures.
The book asks what a myth is and how it differs from other narratives, such as legends and folktales. It also looks at interpretations of meaning in mythology.
The focus is on Ancient Greek myth, but Roman reinterpretation of Greek stories and the invention of Roman myth are also discussed. Texts from Egypt, the peoples of Mesopotamia, and the Jewish traditions found in the Bible broaden the context and deepen our understanding of myth. The book examines the relevance of key themes to the cultures in which the myths arose or in which they were adapted and retold. Looking at the reflection of the ancient world through myth helps us to identify important religious, social and political aspects of ancient cultures.
More details
Persons
Dr Ian Plant is a Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at Macquarie University in Sydney. His other publications include Women Writers of Ancient Greece and Rome (Equinix: London, 2004) and many articles on history and historiography.
Content
Part A: Introduction Chapter 1 Myth and mythology Chapter 2 The meaning of myth Chapter 3 The Greek gods: The first generation of Olympians Chapter 4 The Greek gods: The second generation of Olympians Chapter 5 The hero Chapter 6 The heroine Chapter 7 The myth of the Trojan War Chapter 8 Rome and its foundation myth Chapter 9 Creation and flood myths from the Near East Part B: Greek Sources Homer, Iliad, Odyssey Euripides, The Bacchae, Heracles Scholia on the Iliad Plato, Protagoras Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days Dionysius of Halicarnassus Homeric Hymns to Demeter Apollodorus, The Library, Epitome Hecataeus, Genealogies Pausanaias, Description of Greece Herodotus, Histories Plutarch, Life of Romulus, Life of Cimon Hellanicus of Lesbos Proclus, Chrestomathy Thucydides, History Hippocrates, On Airs, Waters and Places Roman Sources Sallust, Conspiracy of Catiline Ovid, Metamorphoses Virgil, Aeneid Epitaphs from Rome Livy, Early History of Rome Egyptian, Near Eastern and Biblical Sources Book of the Dead Nur Aya, Epic of Atrahasis Eridu Genesis Sin-leqe-unnini, Epic of Gilgamesh Enuma Elish Bible (extracts) Appendices: Glossary of People and Places Chronology of the Ancient World Genealogical Tables Maps