Mito

by Jean-Pierre Vernant, Andrea Marcolongo (Preface author)

Il mito incanta, seduce l'immaginazione, meraviglia, ma soprattutto offre radici al nostro pensiero perché, ci insegna Vernant, quel variegato universo che a prima vista sembrerebbe "un guazzabuglio di favole strampalate" poggia piuttosto su fondamenta solide e profondissime, che hanno consentito ai Greci di costruire il loro straordinario mondo spirituale materiale. Insomma, sebbene nessuno creda, e probabilmente abbia mai creduto anche nell'antichità, che le appassionanti vicende di eroi e dei, dei loro amori e delle loro vendette siano vere, tutta la civiltà occidentale continua a figurarsi all'interno dell'orizzonte intellettuale tracciato quasi tremila anni fa dal mito greco. Come sostiene Andrea Marcolongo nella Prefazione, "il mito greco si rivela ancora oggi il perimetro entro il quale pratichiamo l'esercizio del pensiero - e con cui misuriamo il grado raggiunto o mancato della nostra civiltà".

125 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2021

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.