How Philosophers Saved Myths: Allegorical Interpretation and Classical Mythology

by Luc Brisson, Luc Brisson

In this concise but wide-ranging study, Luc Brisson describes how the myths of Greece and Rome were transmitted from antiquity to the Renaissance. He argues that philosophy was responsible for saving myth from historical annihilation. Although philosophy was initially critical of myth, mythology was progressively reincorporated into philosophy through allegory. Brisson reveals how philosophers employed allegory and how it enabled myth to take on a number of different interpretive systems throughout the centuries: moral, physical, psychological, political, and even metaphysical.
             “This wonderful book confirms Brisson’s status as one of the major authorities in the field of classical antiquity. Overall, and with this excellent translation, the book is invaluable.”— Choice
            “A compressed overview with moments of great insight. . . . Its strengths lie in the details Brisson is able to work into this brief treatment.”—Peter Struck, Journal of Religion

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Folklore

221 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Catarina PBatista · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books if you, like me, are on the path of learning about human thought and how people have transmitted their beliefs and their knowledge in a different way.
Wether about science, religion, and other mysteries people transmitted knowledge in a secretive, creative, and seductive way. Most of this knowledge is now available to us today but is still special to understand that most of the human population have passed somewhat by similar processes, no matter how far in the world they are~and it's funny to recognize how obvious or clear things today were considered precious knowledge before.
A must-read for curious minds that like history and antropology~