A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in Antiquity (The Cultural Histories Series)

How have fairy tales from around the world changed over the centuries? What do they tell us about different cultures and societies? Spanning chronologically from the third millennium BCE through to the seventh century CE and beyond, and geographically from the Mediterranean to the Near East and Asia, this book explores the earliest known evidence of familiar folk tales and fairy tales in the ancient world. Drawing on sources including the Rig Veda, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Old Testament, the Westcar Papyrus, and the Odyssey, this volume ranges from epic poetry to drama, to fables and proverbs, and from ancient histories to novels. Scholars in Classics, Anthropology, Folklore, and Asian Studies examine the dissemination, adaptation, and cross-cultural interactions of early forms of folk tales, providing new insights into how they functioned and circulated across different societies. An essential resource for scholars and students of ancient literature, history, and cultural studies, this book explores topics including: forms of the marvelous, gender and sexuality, monsters and the monstrous, the significance of spaces, socialization and moral messaging, and the uses and abuses of power. A Cultural History of Fairy Tales (6-volume set) A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in Antiquity is also available as a part of a 6-volume set, A Cultural History of Fairy Tales, tracing fairy tales from antiquity to the present day, available in print, or within a fully-searchable digital library accessible through institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com). Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com. How have the fairy tales of different cultures changed over the centuries? What do they tell us about our fears and hopes? In a work that spans 2,500 years these ambitious questions are addressed by over 50 experts, each contributing their overview of a theme applied to a period in history. With the help of a broad range of case material they illustrate broad trends and nuances of the fairy tale in Western culture from antiquity to the present. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole, and to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six. The six volumes 1 Antiquity (500 BCE to 800 CE); 2 Medieval Age (800 to 1450); 3 The Age of the Marvelous (1450 to 1650); 4 The Long Eighteenth Century (1650 to 1800); 5 The Long Nineteenth Century (1800 to 1920); 6 The Modern Age (1920 to the present). Themes (and chapter titles) Forms of the Marvelous; Adaptation; Gender and Sexuality; Humans and Non-Humans; Monsters and the Monstrous; Spaces; Socialization; and Power. The page extent for the pack is approximately 2,000pp. Each volume opens with Notes on Contributors and an Introduction and concludes with Notes, Bibliography, and an Index. The Cultural Histories Series A Cultural History of Fairy Tales is part of The Cultural Histories Series. Titles are available both as printed hardcover sets for libraries needing just one subject or preferring a one-off purchase and tangible reference for their shelves, or as part of a fully-searchable digital library available to institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see (http://www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com) www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com ). "How have the fairy tales of different cultures changed over the centuries ? What do they tell us about our fears and hopes ? In a work that spans 2,500 years these ambitious questions are addressed by over 50 experts, each contributing their overview of a theme applied to a period in history. With the help of a broad range of case material they illustrate broad trends and nuances of the fairy tale in Western culture from antiquity to the present. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole, and to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six. The six volumes cover: 1 - Antiquity (500 BCE to 800 CE); 2 - Medieval Age (800 to 1450); 3 - The Age of the Marvelous (1450 to 1650); 4 - The Long Eighteenth Century (1650 to 1800); 5 - The Long Nineteenth Century (1800 to 1920); 6 - The Modern Age (1920 to the present). Themes (and chapter titles) are: Forms of the Marvelous; Adaptation; Gender and Sexuality; Humans and Non-Humans; Monsters and the Monstrous; Spaces; Socialization; and Power. The page extent for the pack is approximately 2,000 pp. Each volume opens with notes on contributors and an introduction and concludes with notes, bibliography, and an index."--Résumé de l'éditeur Cover 1 Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 List of Tables 13 Series Preface 14 List of Abbreviations 17 Introduction: Ancient Analogues for Modern Tales 1 Debbie Felton 18 1 Forms of the Marvelous: Prodigies and Wonders in Antiquity Graham Anderson 28 2 Adaptation: Transmission, Translation, and Diffusion of Ancient Tales Emanuele Lelli 54 3 Gender and Sexuality: Reading Females, Males, and Other in Asian Folktales Serinity Young 76 4 Humans and Non-Humans: The Animal in Greek and Roman Fable Kenneth Kitchell 100 5 Monsters and the Monstrous: Ancient Expressions of Cultural Anxieties Debbie Felton 126 6 Space: Borders, Fringes, and Thresholds in the Ancient Folktale Julia Doroszewska and Janek Kucharski 148 7 Socialization: Fairy Tales as Vehicles of Moral Messages Dominic Ingemark and Camilla Asplund Ingemark 166 8 Power: Uses and Abuses of Authority in Ancient Tales 169 Debbie Felton 186 Notes 207 References 225 Notes on Contributors 245 Index 248 Part five of a six volume set: The Long Nineteenth Century (1800 to 1920). In a work that spans 2,500 years these ambitious questions are addressed by over 50 experts, each contributing their overview of a theme applied to a period in history. With the help of a broad range of case material they illustrate broad trends and nuances of the fairy tale in Western culture from antiquity to the present. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole, and to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six. -- Provided by publisher Part two of a six volume set: Medieval Age (800 to 1450). In a work that spans 2,500 years these ambitious questions are addressed by over 50 experts, each contributing their overview of a theme applied to a period in history. With the help of a broad range of case material they illustrate broad trends and nuances of the fairy tale in Western culture from antiquity to the present. Individual volume editors ensure the cohesion of the whole, and to make it as easy as possible to use, chapter titles are identical across each of the volumes. This gives the choice of reading about a specific period in one of the volumes, or following a theme across history by reading the relevant chapter in each of the six. -- Provided by publisher