Research Catalog

Title

Classical myth : an introduction / Barry B. Powell.

Author

Powell, Barry B.

Publication

• Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2024.
• ©2024

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Subject

Mythology, Classical

Genre/Form

• Myths.
• Discursive works.
• Literary criticism.

Note

• First edition 2001.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Part I. Definitions and Interpretation. What is a Myth? -- Premodern Theories of Myth Chapter -- Modern Theories of Myth -- Part II. Background. Greek History -- Greek and Roman Society -- Greek Literature and the Development of Classical Myth -- Part III. Case Studies. Myth and the Near East: Hesiod's Theogony and Its Sources -- Myth and Religion: Persephonê, Orpheus, Dionysus -- Myth and the Hero: Heracles and Gilgamesh -- Myth and History: Crete and the Trojan War -- Myth and Folktale: The Odyssey -- Myth and Society: The Amazons -- Myth and Law: Orestes -- Roman Myth and Roman Religion: The Metamorphoses of Ovid Chapter -- Myth and Politics: Theseus and the Aeneid of Vergil -- Myth and Art: The Greek Invention of The Narrative Style -- Index and Glossary -- Charts: Chronology of the Ancient World The Greek and Roman Pantheon -- Maps: Map I. Greece, The Aegean Sea, and Western Asia Minor -- Map II. The Ancient Mediterranean.

Call Number

JFE 25-734

ISBN

• 9780472039722
• 0472039725

LCCN

2024937461

OCLC

1409487349

Author

Powell, Barry B., author.

Title

Classical myth : an introduction / Barry B. Powell.

Publisher

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 2024.

Copyright Date

©2024

Edition

Second edition.

Description

xii, 261 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Type of Content

text

still image

cartographic image

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Summary

"Myths are not just the stories from the ancient Greeks and Romans--they represent deep truths from the essential concerns people face in their lives. Readers may already have heard of the Trojan Horse or how Oedipus married his own mother, but why have these stories lingered? In Classical Myth: An Introduction, Barry B. Powell provides the historical and theoretical background necessary for us to understand not only the concept of what a myth is, but the cultural context of how it emerged, and the different approaches to interpreting myth that were put forward by ancient theorists and their more recent successors. Then he helps readers to understand classical myth as it is found in its primary sources: the works of Homer and Hesiod, and the Greek tragedians and historians, Ovid and Vergil. By examining a number of prominent themes in classical myth, this textbook explores the relationship between myth and art, politics, society, and history of the ancient world. This completely revised second edition features new illustrations and will help readers who want to understand myths or study their original sources." -- Publisher's description.

Research Call Number

JFE 25-734