The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Mythography (Oxford Handbooks)

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. Introduction / R. Scott Smith, Stephen M. Trzsakoma -- The mythographical impulse in early Greek poetry / Pura Nieto -- The origins of mythography as a genre / Jordi Pàmias -- Hellenistic mythography / R. Scott Smith, Stephen M. Trzsakoma -- Imperial mythography / Charles Delattre -- Mythography in Latin / R. Scott Smith -- Mythography in Alexandrian verse / Evina Sistakou -- Antihomerica : dares and dictys / Ken Dowden -- Antoninus Liberalis, Collection of metamorphoses / Charles Delattre -- Apollodorus the Mythographer, Bibliotheca / Stephen M. Trzaskoma -- Conon, Narratives / Manuel Sanz Morales -- Cornutus, Survey of the traditions of Greek theology / Ilaria Ramelli -- Diodorus Siculus, Library / Iris Sulimani -- Heraclitus the Mythographer, On unbelievable stories / Greta Hawes -- Heraclitus the Allegorist, Homeric problems / David Konstan -- Hyginus, Fabulae / Kris Fletcher -- The Mythographus homericus / Joan Pagès -- Other mythography on papyrus / Annette Harder -- Greek mythography and scholia / Nereida Villagra -- Ovid and mythography / Joseph Farrell -- Palaphaetus, Unbelievable tales Hugo Koning -- Parthenius, Erotika pathemata / Christopher Francese -- Pausanias, Description of Greece / William Hutton -- Tragic mythography / Chiara Meccariello -- Rationalizing and historicizing / Greta Hawes -- Allegorising and philosophizing / Ilaria Ramelli -- Etymologizing / Ezio Pellizer -- Catasterisms / Arnaud Zucker -- Local mythography / Daniel Berman -- Mythography and paradoxography / Irene Pajón Leyra -- Mythography and education / R. Scott Smith, Stephen M. Trzsakoma -- Mythography and politics / Lee Patterson -- Mythography and geography / Maria Pretzler -- Mythographer and mythography : indigenous categories? Greek inquiries into the heroic past / Claude Calame -- Mythography and Greek vase painting / Kathryn Topper -- Mythography and Roman wall painting / Eleanor Leach -- Retelling Greek myths on Roman sarcophagi / Zahra Newby -- Mythography and Christianity / Jennifer Nimmo Smith -- Byzantine mythography / Benjamin Garstad -- Mythography in the Latin West / Benjamin Garstad -- Mythography and the reception of classical mythology in the Renaissance, 1340-1600 / Jon Solomon 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. ## Abstract This volume brings together 40 chapters penned by specialists that treat various aspects of Greek and Roman mythographical writings—works that organize or interpret myths—and their relationship to other aspects of ancient intellectual and cultural development. An introduction by the editors provides a survey of mythography in Greece and Rome, an overview of the contents of the book, and a discussion of existing and emerging trends in interpretation of mythography. Five sections contain chapters that analyze the development of mythography, individual mythographers and works, intersections with other elements of ancient culture, mythography and the visual arts, and the continuation and reception of mythography by Christian writers in later antiquity, the medieval period, and the Renaissance. Each chapter seeks both to give an up-to-date survey of the status of research and to outline areas for innovative future research. Altogether, these contributions make up the first comprehensive treatment of the phenomenon of Greek and Roman mythography. "This introduction provides an overview of the contents of the present volume but also attempts to situate the information and arguments of the individual chapters in the context of Greek and Roman mythographical studies today, which have changed dramatically in the last three decades. Additionally, a brief survey of the shifting modes of mythography in antiquity is presented. While a simple exposition is impossible and a complete overarching theory and definition cannot be provided, we note how many of the contributions point toward mythography as a mental orientation or intellectual impulse rather than a clear-cut genre"-- Provided by publisher The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Mythography is the first comprehensive examination of ancient writings that systematized and interpreted the mythical tradition, providing an authoritative overview from the archaic period to the Renaissance. 'The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Mythography' provides a comprehensive examination of ancient writings that systematized and interpreted the mythical tradition, providing an authoritative overview from the archaic period to the Renaissance