Overview

"The field of mythography has grown substantially in the past thirty years, an acknowledgment of the importance of how ancient writers ""wrote down the myths"" as they systematized, organized and interpreted the vast and contested mythical storyworld. With the understanding that mythography remains a contested category, that its borders are not always clear, and that it shifted with changes in the socio-cultural and political landscapes, The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Mythography offers a range of scholarly voices that attempt to establish how and to what extent ancient writers followed the ""mythographical mindset"" that prompted works ranging from Apollodorus' Library to the rationalizing and allegorical approaches of Cornutus and Palaephatus. Editors R. Scott Smith and Stephen M. Trzaskoma provide the first comprehensive survey of mythography from the earliest attempts to organize and comment on myths in the archaic period (in poetry and prose) to late antiquity. The essays also provide an overview of those writers we call mythographers and other major sources of mythographic material (e.g., papyri and scholia), followed by a series of essays that seek to explore the ways in which mythographical impulses were interconnected with other intellectual activities (e.g., geography and history, catasteristic writings, politics). In addition, another section of essays presents the first sustained analysis between mythography and the visual arts, while a final section takes mythography from late antiquity up into the Renaissance. While also taking stock of recent advances and providing bibliographical guidance, this Handbook offers new approaches to texts that were once seen only as derivative sources of mythical data and presents innovative ideas for further research. The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Mythography is an essential resource for teachers, scholars, and students alike."

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9780190648312

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Reviews

Owing to the many approaches to the mythical story world in Greco-Roman antiquity...the majority of our extant mythographical works come. * New Testament Abstracts * This volume fulfills its goal of serving as a comprehensive reference tool for scholars and an accessible starting point for students. * Ivana Petrovic, Greece & Rome Vol. 70.2 *

Owing to the many approaches to the mythical story world in Greco-Roman antiquity...the majority of our extant mythographical works come. * New Testament Abstracts *

Owing to the many approaches to the mythical story world in Greco-Roman antiquity...the majority of our extant mythographical works come. * New Testament Abstracts * This volume fulfills its goal of serving as a comprehensive reference tool for scholars and an accessible starting point for students. * Ivana Petrovic, Greece & Rome Vol. 70.2 * The Handbook of Greek and Roman Mythography constitutes a lively debate on the usability and desirability of mythography as a category and a genre, greatly helped by the many cross-references in, and to, individual chapters... In addition to the series' intended readership of scholars and graduate students, this collection will undoubtedly serve undergraduates in the fields of cultural, classical, literary, and reception studies equally well. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

Author Information

R. Scott Smith is Professor of Classics at the University of New Hampshire, where he has taught since 2000. His major field of study is ancient myth and mythography, with special focus on the intersection of mythography, space, and geography. He is currently co-director of a Greek mythical database (MANTO): https://manto.unh.edu. He also produces the podcast, The Greek Myth Files. Stephen M. Trzaskoma is Professor of Classics in the Department of Classics, Humanities & Italian Studies at the University of New Hampshire, where he has been a faculty member since 1999. He has published widely on two areas of ancient Greek literature and culture: first, prose fiction, especially the surviving novels from the Roman imperial period; second, Greek mythical narrative and mythography.

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