Ελληνική μυθολογία και τελετουργία. Δομή και ιστορία

Sather Classical Lectures

by Walter Burkert, Ηλέκτρα Ανδρεάδη (Translator)

Είναι σαν μια επιστροφή στο σπίτι: Αυτές οι μελέτες γεννήθηκαν στη μακρινή Δύση, στην πολύχρωμη και σχεδόν εξωπραγματική ατμόσφαιρα της Καλιφόρνιας. Είναι μια συγκινητική και πολύ ικανοποιητική εμπειρία να τις βλέπω να επιστρέφουν στο χώρο της καταγωγής τους, να φορούν το ένδυμα μιας γλώσσας τόσο πλούσιας σε τάσεις μεταξύ διατήρησης και εκσυγχρονισμού, και να διεκδικούν δυο λέξεις κλειδιά ακριβώς από αυτή την παράδοση: Μυθολογία και Ιστορία. Ελπίζω ότι ακόμα και σ' αυτή τη μορφή θα πετύχουν να συμβιβάσουν την αρχέγονη με τη σύγχρονη όψη της ζωής, να τονίσουν την αίσθηση του παρελθόντος και να συνδέσουν με τις μακρινές πηγές ακόμα και μοντέρνες αντιλήψεις.

Genres: Mythology, Religion, Nonfiction, History, Classics, Anthropology

347 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1980

About the author

Walter Burkert was a German scholar of Greek mythology and cult. Professor Emeritus of Classics, University of Zurich, Switzerland, he taught in the UK and the US.

Reviews

[Bogdan Raț · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two chapters, The Organization of Myth and The Persistence of Ritual, are great, but after that and overall the feeling I got was that not so much was being said about Greek Mythology and, although dealing with influences from other civilizations, particularly the Near-East and Egyptian ones can be illuminating in understanding Greek Mythology, it seems that these civilizations were shown a bit more interest than the primary subject of the book.

[Χρυσόστομος Τσαπραΐλης · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ξεκινάει με λιγότερο ελληνική και περισσότερο θεωρητική γενική μυθολογία και τελετουργία (ή πιο σωστά, με θεωρητικές προσεγγίσεις επ' αυτών, από ορισμούς μέχρι δομικά χαρακτηριστικά), αλλά στα επόμενα κεφάλαια εστιάζει στον ευρύτερο ελλαδικό χώρο με πολύ ενδιαφέροντα παραδείγματα, κάποια από αυτά όχι και τόσο γνωστά. Ακαδημαϊκός λόγος που δεν είναι συναρπαστικός αλλά ούτε και ξηρός, ένα αρκετά ενδιαφέρον ανάγνωσμα.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciated this approach to certain Greek myths. It is not an overview of myths in general but a number of essays that tackle certain questions. Both scholarly and accessible.

[Dee Eisel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was highly recommended to me, and I can definitely see why! Burkert is dense reading, make no mistake, but that's because he packs so much information into his work. Careful research is partnered by an in-depth explanation of what we know about the way the Greek culture worshipped and worked with their Gods.

Burkert is a consummate linguist. He uses that talent often in explaining how the very words that the Greeks used for their practices are themselves working with worship. But even Burkert can't work with what he doesn't have, and he laments the terrible paucity of learning what people did in everyday life. We simply don't know, outside of the main festivals, what the people did - especially the lower classes. As a modern example, it's as if everyone knew about saying grace before meals and so it was never mentioned in our literature.

It is hard to summarize such a dense book. It sounds like a copout, but I highly recommend anyone interested in the culture read it in full and learn about some of the great festivals and the way the people changed over time. Anything less does it a disservice.