Mythe et société en Grèce ancienne

by Jean-Pierre Vernant

Le mythe ne se définit pas seulement par sa polysémie, par l’emboîtement des différents codes les uns dans les autres. Entre les termes mêmes qu’il distingue ou qu’il oppose dans son armature catégorielle, il ménage dans le déroulement narratif et dans le découpage des champs sémantiques des passages, des glissements, des tensions, des oscillations, comme si les termes, tout en s’excluant, s’impliquaient aussi d’une certaine façon. Le mythe met donc en jeu une forme de logique qu’on peut appeler, en contraste avec la logique de non-contradiction des philosophes, une logique de l’ambigu, de l’équivoque, de la polarité. Quel est d’autre part le lien entre le cadre intellectuel dégagé par l’analyse structurale et le contexte socio-historique où le mythe a été produit ? Comment s’articulent, dans le travail concret de déchiffrement, une recherche en synchronie où chaque élément s’explique par l’ensemble de ses relations au système et une enquête en diachronie où les éléments, insérés dans des séries temporelles, s’expliquent par leurs rapports à ceux qui les ont précédés dans les séquences ainsi définies ? La réponse consisterait sans doute à montrer que, pas plus dans l’enquête historique que dans l’analyse en synchronie, on ne rencontre d’éléments isolés, mais toujours des structures, liées plus ou moins fortement à d’autres, et que les séries temporelles concernent des remaniements, plus ou moins étendus, de structures au sein de ces mêmes systèmes que vise l’étude structurale.

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

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Jean-Pierre Vernant was a French historian and anthropologist, specialist in ancient Greece. Influenced by Claude Lévi-Strauss, Vernant developed a structuralist approach to Greek myth, tragedy, and society which would itself be influential among classical scholars. He was an honorary professor at the Collège de France.

Born in Provins, France, Vernant at first studied philosophy, receiving his agrégation in this field in 1937.

A member of the Young Communists (Jeunes Communistes), Vernant joined the French Resistance during World War II and was a member of Libération-sud (founded by Emmanuel d'Astier). He later commanded the French Interior Forces (FFI) in Haute-Garonne under the pseudonym of "Colonel Berthier." He was a Companion of the Liberation. After the war, he remained a member of the French Communist Party until 1969.

He entered the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in 1948 and, under the influence of Louis Gernet, turned to the study of ancient Greek anthropology. Ten years later, he became director of studies at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS). In 1971 he was professor in the University of São Paulo. This visit was also an act of protest that he made with François Châtelet against the brazilian military government (dictatorship).

He was a member of the French sponsorship committee for the Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. He supported the funding organisation Non-Violence XXI.

He was awarded the CNRS gold medal in 1984. In 2002, he received an honorary doctorate at the University of Crete.

Vernant died a few days after his 93rd birthday in Sèvres.

Reviews

[Sinem A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

biraz akademik gibi dursa da antik yunan inanışları yapısı hakkında kısa ama yoğun bir bilgi kaynağı

[Hasan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Çevirisi çok kötü.

[Ivan Loginov · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book shows the unique thought of J. P. Vernant, who employed an updated version of the structuralist analysis of mythology (that was earlier demonstrated by Claude Lévi-Strauss) to study Greek myths in connection or juxtaposition to the issues of marriage, customs, wars, etc. Coming from a Marxist standpoint, he stressed the historical embeddedness of particular myths and socio-political elements related to them, and, of course, their ideological background. Interestingly, this approach did not lead him to reductionism one might expect, on the contrary, sociocultural context allowed him to more thoroughly explore the meanings of the signs, symbols, and other elements of the studied material.

[Alejandro Orradre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imprescindible ensayo para comprender la relación entre la religión griega y su sociedad, sus implicaciones en el día día e incluso en la conformación de su misma cultura -tanto política como social-. Pese a manejar un vocabulario y estilo denso -muy académico- su lectura resulta apasionante para cualquier persona interesada en el mundo clásico.

[Hasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Başlangıç niteliğinde, bu kitap tabii ki yetmez tek başına. Kitabın içinde de hoş bir ileri okuma listesi var. Oraya gidicez hadi bakalım

[Eda Bozkurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Türkçesi çok kötü, sürekli eski sözcükler kullanılmış,
(ör;evrensel yerine acunsal denmiş), metin akmıyor.

Kitaba gelince tabii kötü bir türkçeden okumamın etkisi de vardır ama beklediğim kadar iyi değildi. Bir çok bölüm çok detaylıydı ve sıcıydı keşke yalnızca ilgimi çeken bölümü okusaydım diye düşündüm.

[Marion Hilairante · Rating 4 out of 5]

C’est dur à livre mais c’est BIEN

[Gynee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molt complet i educatiu. Bon estudi quantitatiu sobre la societat Grega.

[Yasin Çetin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eski Yunan'da mit, kült, din ve gizemlerine kısa bir yolculuk.

[Merve · Rating 3 out of 5]

İyi bir kitap ama çevirisi iyi yapılmamış bence. Daha açık ifadeler kullanılabilirdi.