Approaches to Greek Myth

by Lowell Edmunds (Editor)

Since the first edition of Approaches to Greek Myth was published in 1990, interest in Greek mythology has surged. There was no simple agreement on the subject of "myth" in classical antiquity, and there remains none today. Is myth a narrative or a performance? Can myth be separated from its context? What did myths mean to ancient Greeks and what do they mean today?

Here, Lowell Edmunds brings together practitioners of eight of the most important contemporary approaches to the subject. Whether exploring myth from a historical, comparative, or theoretical perspective, each contributor lucidly describes a particular approach, applies it to one or more myths, and reflects on what the approach yields that others do not. Edmunds's new general and chapter-level introductions recontextualize these essays and also touch on recent developments in scholarship in the interpretation of Greek myth.

Contributors are Jordi Pamias, on the reception of Greek myth through history; H. S. Versnel, on the intersections of myth and ritual; Carolina Lopez-Ruiz, on the near Eastern contexts; Joseph Falaky Nagy, on Indo-European structure in Greek myth; William Hansen, on myth and folklore; Claude Calame, on the application of semiotic theory of narrative; Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood, on reading visual sources such as vase paintings; and Robert A. Segal, on psychoanalytic interpretations.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Classics

480 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1990

About the author

Lowell Edmunds is an emeritus professor of Classics at Rutgers University with research interests in Greek literature and mythology.

Reviews

[Sense of History]

A collection of articles, with different authors, different perspectives, and varying levels of specialization. I was particularly enchanted by Carolina Lopez-Ruiz's article, which focuses on the relationship between Greek and Near Eastern mythologies. This article was not included in the first edition of 1990, and therefore provides insight into the very fruitful comparative approaches of recent decades.

The observation that there are many connections and even similarities between Greek and Near Eastern mythologies is certainly not new. However, contrary to what still was believed at the end of the last century, it appears not to be a simple one-way street, and there were multiple players involved. So, the Greeks were not simply borrowing and adapting mythological elements from Mesopotamian or Egyptian civilizations (think of the flood theme or the figure of Gilgamesh and his struggle with mortality), but a genuine interaction, in which, in exceptional cases, Greek heroic stories also influenced those of the Near East. For example, the figure of Goliath in the Biblical narrative, appears to have all the characteristics of a Greek hero. And to elaborate on that last point: also Anatolia (Hittites, Luwians) and the Northwestern Semites (Phoenicians, Ugarit, early Hebrews) must also be included in the picture. So, it's not all that simple, and the precise connections will probably never be fully revealed. This leads Lopez-Ruiz to conclude: "to see the Greek and Near Eastern mythologies as part of a polysystem (< Itamar Even-Zohar), as a network of systems that intersect with each other and partly overlap, using concurrently different options, yet functioning as a single structured whole whose members are interdependent."

I have another important addition, because as part of her article, Lopez-Ruiz also raises some very important methodological observations. I'll briefly summarize them here, although each deserves further elaboration:
• Similarity does not simply mean borrowing
• It is not the principle goal of comparison to ascertain ‘origins’
• Not everything comes from the East
• The ‘Near East’ is not unitary and uniform
• Myths are not texts, but they are in texts
• Dates of texts can be misleading
• Language is not culture (especially Indo-European)
• Authors are not necessarily mouthpieces for their cultures
All very relevant considerations, also in other archaeological fields than this one!

[Marc Lamot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is, of course, a highly specialized study, at an academic level, focused on literary theory in the broadest sense. Consequently, some contributions are more compelling than others. I particularly enjoyed Lowell Edmunds's general introduction and Caroline Lopez-Ruiz's article on the interplay between Greek and Near Eastern mythologies, and it was very interesting. As things go, things turn out to be much less straightforward than initially assumed. More information can be found in my History account on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview of how the study, direction, and understanding of how myth exists in the world.
It is dense and requires rereading every paragraph before moving one because the introductions can be very circular. Each chapter/article is well written, well researched, & well delivered.
I could very well see myself returning to this textbook.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was...a lot to read. I found some of the chapters really interesting and others very jargon-heavy.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Impossible.