Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Greek and mythology'

Given its early connection to western science fiction, it is not entirely surprising that contemporary Chinese science fiction (csf) frequently references the "west" in general and Greek mythology in particular. The three works that I analyze in this paper are Xia Jia's "Psychology Game," Gu Shi's "Chimera," and Egoyan Zheng's The Dream Devourer. These three texts utilize Greek mythology in different ways, to different degrees, and with different purposes, and yet they all use Greek mythology to visually disrupt their respective texts. Xia Jia ends "Psychology Game" with a direct Greek-language quotation. Throughout "Chimera," Gu Shi quotes Chinese translations of Greek texts. Finally, in The Dream Devourer, Egoyan Zheng's references to Greek myth are more playful and extensive. Although Zheng names certain significant characters in his novel after figures in Greek mythology, the connections to those figures are rarely explicit and are often twisted or inverted. By analyzing these three texts together we can more clearly see the overarching connection that Greek mythology has to contemporary csf. Although multilingual references are not new to Chinese literature, the Greek references commonly found in csf are likely foreign not only to their Chinese-language audience, but to their Anglophone audience as well. As such, there is a very distinct visual divide between the Chinese-language references and the Greek or Roman script in these texts. Though each script remains clearly discernable, they are connected by the interweaving of the languages and by the text itself, the final result being a literary "cyborg" that unites supposedly binary aspects of "East" and "West." As Donna Haraway claims in her "Cyborg Manifesto," the cyborg represents the rejection of rigid binaries and two-word definitions. She claims, "We are cyborgs. The cyborg is our ontology; it gives us our politics. The cyborg is a condensed image of both imagination and material reality" (50). By combining Greek, Roman, and Chinese scripts these authors simultaneously represent and complicate the dichotomy of "East" and "West," acknowledging how these supposedly distinct cultures have blended.

The ancient Greeks are prime subjects of study for those wishing to understand the roles that religion and mythology play in a society and how the two interact with each other. This paper covers what I feel after my study of Greek mythology and religion are the eight functions of mythology: history, education, explanation - both of the natural world and the culture of each society, legality, genesis, what happens after death, and entertainment; as well as the two function of religion: civic and spiritual. In the first chapter, in order to show each of the mythological functions, I summarize and explain a myth that falls primarily into each category. The second chapter discusses and illustrates Civic Religion and the third examines the three major Mystery Religions. The goal is to offer a basic understand of some of the myths, religious beliefs, and cult practices of the ancient Greeks.

Texte remanié de: Tesi di dottorato--Archeologia--Padova--Università degli studi, 1997.
La p. de titre porte en plus : "Alma mater studiorum, Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di archeologia" Bibliogr. p. 217-234.

Rev. version of the editor's thesis: The Diegeseis of Konon (Universität Bern, 1998).
Epitome of Conon's Narrationes (a collection of 50 stories now lost except for 42 lines containing parts of two stories) from Photius' Bibliotheca. Includes bibliographical references (p. [353]-368) and indexes.

The aim of this work is to offer the reader a tour through the most significant interpretations of the Prometheus myth, attempting to contribute  from their standpoint to the clarification of the relationship between moral law and political law. In especial, it aims to highlight in Prometheus’s attitude something that betrays the presence of a strongly individualized conscience, whose dictates lead him to clash with power in its highest expression. On the other hand, different interpretations of the Greek concept of law are examined, where its highest expression is indebted to the idea of destiny. Based on Law, a common order that connects gods and humans is established, although not with the same degrees of subjection.
El objetivo de este trabajo es ofrecer al lector un recorrido por las más signifi cativas interpretaciones del mito de Prometeo, intentando, a la luz del contenido de las mismas, contribuir al esclarecimiento de la relación entre ley moral y ley política. En particular, se trata de poner de relieve cómo hay en la actitud de Prometeo algo que delata la presencia de una conciencia, fuertemente individualizada, cuyo dictado le conduce a asumir el choque con el poder en su máxima expresión. Por otro lado, se analizan las diferentes interpretaciones del concepto griego de Ley, estudiando cómo la máxima expresión de la misma es deudora de la idea de destino. En base a la Ley, se establece un orden común, que enlaza a dioses y hombres, si bien no con los mismos grados de sujeción.

In the first chapter we intend to present, although in a restricted sense, some of the positions of the most recent critics, which will allow us to determine the meaning of our Author.
The next chapter is mainly dedicated to giving information which establishes the relationships between the most important mythological traditions and classical works. Such information will serve to find and establish the components of the Pavesian culture.
Cesare Pavese was born in Piemonte, Italy, in 1908, he lived in the historical period during which fascism and nazism triumphed and through all the horrors of the immediate after-war. Pavese's incapacity to be concretely active in the political field brings him to relive, in his writings, the ancient Italian cult of the Evocativo. This technique of his is a hermetic method of going through with his ethical social mission. To evoke a god in a moment of national crisis is a traditionally Italian ritual; while the invocation to a God or a Muse is also part of the literary tradition. The classicism of Pavese is now recognized by different critics. Their basis for this decision is his work Dialoghi con Leuco. However, our attention is more focused on the romance Il diavolo sulle colline which occupies the central part of the trilogy La Bella Estate.
This text Il diavolo sulle colline contains many meanings which requires different approaches--such as the cultural precedents of other authors, and even those of Pavese himself--to decipher. The many messages in this work can all be traced back to the concept of death and rebirth. Pavese uses themes which are beloved to Dante and the humanists, who were themselves inspired by the great Greek and Latin authors.
And thus, we are left wondering whether Il diavolo sulle colline was conceived according to the norms of the classical tragedy, which was based on the celebrations in honor of the god Dionisus (the Hellenic demon venerated by the Latins under the name of Bacchus, and affiliated with an old Italian divinity whose symbolic name was Liber Pater). Poli, a dominating figure in Il diavolo sulle colline could be the double of this god. Our discussion will therefore be founded on the testimony of mythographers.
From a methodological point of view, our analysis will not take into account the chronological sequences, but rather the themes which imply the operation of segmenting the text.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: "The growth of any discipline depends on the ability to communicate and develop ideas, and this in turn relies on a language which is sufficiently detailed and flexible" (Singh 1997: 59). Many metaphors relating to creativity are too misleading, confusing, and restricted in scope for a meaningful exploration of the phenomenon and its fluctuating social and cultural contexts. Given the Muse's long-term association with literature, philosophy, education, and more recently, the fine arts and other "creative" fields, an analysis of this concept may provide a unique opportunity to gain insight into the "mechanisms" underlying the creative process. Since affiliation with the Muse appears to have signalled attainment of critical cultural and/or social status by cultural practitioners in various societies, from the ancient to the present (a category which was broadened substantially), it is thus logical to assume this concept encompasses and has accumulated characteristics particular to the creative process as historically and currently valued in Western culture. Given the limited scope of the thesis, I have focused on specific concerns: 1) Provide an overview of the history, origin and development of the concept via specific examples ranging from antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern. 2) Assess the changes which have occurred in the development of the concept, and postulate likely causes: such as for example, the impact of an increased focus on the visual - and by extension, the physical - due to a more literate populace, on a concept originally conceived of as experienced through predominantly audial means. 3) Identify closely related concepts, the characteristics of which may have played a role in the formulation of the initial concept, along with those integrated into it, to form the modern version of the Muse: examples include the influence of the myth of Pygmalion on notions regarding the poet's relationship with both material and Muse; and the consequences of an amalgamation of characteristics of Aphrodite with those of the pastoral Muse. 4) Explore the extent to which the Muse-poet interaction can reveal fundamental aspects of the creative process and its main components: the differences between the public invocation and experience of the Muse in an oral context, as opposed to the privately experienced Muse of the literate poet; also, the changes imposed on the concept's perceived means of functioning due to its extension to the practice of the visual arts; and the correlation between the Jungian notion of the anima and aspects of the Muse. 5) Postulate the fundamental aspects of the creative process as revealed by analysis of the concept of the Muse for further investigation. In brief then, the main intention of this thesis is simply to examine by analysis of particular examples, the feasibility of applying the concept of the Muse as metaphor through which to identify for further exploration, issues and themes relating to the production and changes in social assessment of creative enterprises.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: "The growth of any discipline depends on the ability to communicate and develop ideas, and this in turn relies on a language which is sufficiently detailed and flexible" (Singh 1997: 59). Menige metafore verbonde aan kreatiwiteit is te misleidend, verwarrend, of beperk in omvang vir 'n betekenisvolle ondersoek van díe verskynsel en die fluktueerende sosiale en kulturele kontekste daarvan. Gesien in die lig van die Muse se langtermyn assosiasie met letterkunde, filosofie, opvoedkunde en meer onlangs, the skone kunste en ander "kreatiewe" velde, mag 'n analise van die konsep moontlik 'n unieke geleentheid bied om insig te verkry in die onderliggende "meganismes" van die kreatiewe proses. Aangesien affiliasie met die Muse blyk om die bereiking van kritiese kulturele en/of sosiale status, deur kulturele praktisyne in verskeie samelewings, van die antieke tot die huidige ('n kategorie wat aansienlik uitgebou is) aan te dui, is dit dus logies om te aanvaar dat die konsep alomvattend is van eienskappe kenmerkend van die kreatiewe proses, soos geskiedkundig en huidig op prys gestel in die Westerse kultuur. Gegewe die beperkte bestek van die tesis, is gefokus op spesifieke kwessies: 1) Verskaf 'n oorsig van die geskiedenis, oorsprong, en ontwikkeling van die konsep deur spesifieke voorbeelde, in omvang vanaf die antieke, die middeleuse periode, en die moderne. 2) Evalueer die veranderinge wat voorgekom het in die ontwikkeling van die konsep, en veronderstel moontlike redes daarvoor: soos byvoorbeeld, die impak van vermeerderde fokus op die visuele - en daarby die fisiese - as gevolg van 'n meer geletterde bevolking, op 'n konsep wat aanvanklik hoofsaaklik ouditief ondervind is. 3) Identifiseer verwante konsepte, die eienskappe waarvan moontlik 'n rol kon gespeel het in die formulasie van die aanvanklike konsep, asook die wat daarby geintegreer is, om die moderne weergawe van die Muse te vorm: voorbeelde sluit in, die invloed van die mite van Pigmalion op begrippe aangaande die digter se verhouding met beide die materiaal en Muse; en die gevolge van 'n samesmelting van Aphrodite se karaktertrekke met die van die pastorale Muse. 4) Ondersoek die mate waartoe die Muse-digter verhouding fundamentele aspekte van die kreatiewe proses en sy hoof komponente kan ontbloot: soos die verskille tussen die publieke invokasie en ervaring van die Muse in 'n verbale konteks, in teenstelling met die geletterde digter wat die Muse privaat ondevind; asook die veranderinge temeegebring op die persepsies aangaande die konsep se funksionering as gevolg van die uitbreiding daarvan tot die visuele kunste; en die korrelasie tussen die Jungiaanse idee van die anima, en aspekte van die Muse. 5) Veronderstel die fundamentele aspekte van die kreatiewe proses, soos ontbloot deur analise van die konsep van die Muse vir verdere ondersoek. Kortliks dan, die hoof voorneme van hierdie tesis is om deur analise van spesifieke voorbeelde, die uitvoerbaarheid te ondersoek om die konsep van die Muse toe te pas as metafoor vir verdere navorsing waardeur kwessies en temas, aangaande die produksie en veranderinge in sosiale waardering van kreatiewe ondernemings, ge-identifiseer kan word.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 1999.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 225-237). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users. Address: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p9957572.

What are the Amazons, and how should we understand their identity and mode of being throughout the Greek mythic corpus? The aim of this thesis is to build upon the work of previous scholars, as there is still much that can be said about the Amazons. Although most prior scholarship analyses the depiction of Amazons by 5th and 4th century BCE authors – Herodotus, Ephorus and Lysias – as well as iconography on 5th century Athenian public buildings, the Amazon mythic corpus is far greater in scope. I posit that scholars who focus exclusively on Amazon portrayals from this period run the risk of overly historicising the mythic figures by adopting an Othering framework and conflating the Amazons with the Persians. In contrast, I undertake a close reading of Quintus’ portrayal of the Amazons in PostHomerica, against the background of a wider range of relevant sources from the 6th century BCE to the Second Sophistic. In doing so, I argue that the Amazons are not always portrayed as subversive figures, nor do they solely occupy a mode of being which is explicitly antithetical to Greek societal norms. Rather, this thesis foregrounds numerous ancient accounts which portray the Amazons as heroic semi-divine figures, thus prompting a reinterpretation of Amazon ontology. Overall, my approach to Amazon ontology is unique in that I emphasise the complexity and multifaceted nature of the Amazonian γένος, analysing them as figures with their own complex mode of being, rather than as mere non-Greeks. In particular, this thesis argues that the Amazons navigate the human-divine binary opposition, and that this opposition is mediated through the animal as a third mode of existence.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 277-283). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

This thesis is a systematic study of the representations of Telamonian Ajax in archaic and classical Greece. Its aim is to trace, examine, and understand how and why the constitutive elements of his myth evolved in the way they did in the long chain of its receptions. Particular attention is paid to the historical, socio-cultural and performative contexts of the literary works and visual representations I analyse as well as to the audience for which these were produced. The study is divided into three parts, each of which reflects a different reality in which Ajax has been received (different with respect to time, place, or literary genre). Artistic representations of the hero, as well as his religious dimension and political valence, are consistently taken into account throughout the thesis. The first part - Ajax from Salamis - focuses on epic poetry, and thus investigates the Panhellenic significance of the hero (rather than his reception in a particular place). It treats the entire corpus of early Greek hexameter poetry that has come down to us in written form as the reception of a common oral tradition which each poem has adapted for its own purpose. I establish that in the larger tradition of the Trojan War, Ajax was a hero characterised by his gift of invulnerability. Because of this power, he is the figure who protects his companions - dead or alive - par excellence. However, this ability probably also led him to become over-confident, and, accordingly, to reject Athena's support on the battlefield. Hence, the goddess's hostility towards him, which she demonstrated by making him lose the reward of apioteia (Achilles' arms). His defeat made Ajax so angry that he became mad and committed suicide. I also show how this traditional Ajax has been adapted to fit into the Iliad's own aesthetics. The second part - Ajax in Aegina - concentrates on the reception of Ajax in the victory odes of Pindar and Bacchylides for Aeginetan patrons. I argue that in the first part of the fifth century, Ajax becomes a figure imbued with a strong political dimension (especially with regard to the relationship between Athens and Aegina). Accordingly, I show how the presence of Ajax in Pindar's and Bacchylides' poems is often politically charged, and significant within the historical context. I discuss the influence this had on his representation. Finally, the third part moves to Athens, as I consider Ajax's reception during three distinct periods: the sixth century, the first half of the fifth century, and finally the rest of the classical period. I equally insist on the political dimension of the figure. I demonstrate that his figure undergoes a shift of paradigm in the early fifth century, which deeply affects his representation. By following in the footsteps of Ajax, this study prompts a series of reflections and comments on each of the works in which the hero features as well as on the relationship of these works to the historical context in which they were produced.

Chapter One of this thesis explores the identity of the Eumenides, the resident deities in Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus. By examining the language and contents of two important ritual acts in the play, it is proven that their title is euphemistic; these goddesses are the transformed Erinyes of Aeschylus.
Oedipus and his sinfulness is the focus of Chapter Two. Although he has committed the heinous crimes of incest and parricide, Oedipus seems to be exempt from the Erinyes' hounding. By reviewing the charges laid against him, it is revealed that Oedipus is a morally innocent man.
The final chapter deals with Oedipus' apotheosis and the role played by the Eumenides. By examining the play's dramatic action, it is demonstrated that Oedipus, a man of innate heroic nature, is deserving of heroization. But to reach his exalted end, the championship of the Eumenides is required.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 24, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation analyses the recurrent theme of the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone in third-generation Italian American women’s memoirs. I argue that these women appropriate their Italian ethnic roots through a creative and compelling rereading and reworking of the myth of Demeter and Persephone. To develop my argument, I explore the interlacing of myth and memory in three contemporary Italian American memoirs: No Pictures in my Grave: A Spiritual Journey in Sicily (1992), The Skin between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty, and Belonging (2006), and The Anarchist Bastard: Growing Up Italian in America (2011), respectively written by Susan Caperna Lloyd, Kym Ragusa, and Joanna Clapps Herman. These texts belong to the hybrid genre of memoir; a genre that combines imagination with individual and collective memory. Through the genre of memoir and the practice of self-writing, these authors turn to the myth as a source for female empowerment and ethnic assertion. The myth of Persephone in these Italian American women’s memoirs epitomizes the archetype of origin so it becomes a treasure to be sought and rediscovered. These texts offer insightful perspective on myth while also posing questions of difference, gender, race, ethnicity, self-representation, and post-modern identity. Through an eclectic approach, including literary criticism, cultural studies, and anthropology, I argue that these three memoirs show how the authors’ physical and/or psychological journeys between Italy and America have helped them to overcome the anxieties experienced in relation to their Italian American hybrid identity. This thesis explores the themes of liminality, ethnicity, race, and hybridity to understand how the Persephone myth is used by the authors to articulate their condition as dwellers of the limen, and to help them come to terms with the trauma of loss, separation, and reunion.

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses.
PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
2031-01-02

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses.
PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
2031-01-02

Orientador: Flávio Ribeiro de Oliveira
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem
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Resumo: A Biblioteca é um compêndio em Grego antigo de mitos e lendas heroicas dispostos em três livros e foi denominado "a mais valiosa obra mitográfica dos tempos antigos que chegou até nós", mas não se sabe absolutamente quem é o seu autor. A obra que temos em mãos é atribuída a Apolodoro, o Gramático, ou seja, Apolodoro de Atenas, um erudito do século II a. C. e autor da obra Sobre os Deuses (Perì Theôn). O texto que possuímos, no entanto, menciona um autor romano, o cronista Cástor, um contemporâneo de Cícero do século I a. C. Os eruditos que se seguiram a Fócio se equivocaram na atribuição da obra. Uma vez que Apolodoro de Atenas não poderia ter escrito a obra, o autor da Biblioteca é convencionalmente denominado o "Pseudo Apolodoro" por aqueles que almejam ser estritamente precisos. As referências tradicionais mencionam apenas "a Biblioteca e Epítome". Sua primeira menção na literatura grega ocorre em 858 d. C. pelo erudito bizantino Fócio, que teve acesso à obra na íntegra, tal como ele menciona no seu "relato de livros lidos", que ela continha histórias dos heróis da Guerra de Troia e dos nóstoi (Retornos) que faltam nos manuscritos que restaram. Infelizmente, a Biblioteca chegou-nos incompleta. Nos manuscritos ela se encontra indivisa, mas por convenção, foi dividida em três livros. Parte do Livro III, que é interrompido abruptamente no meio das aventuras de Teseu, foi perdida. No século XII d. C., no entanto, John Tzetzes possuía o texto completo, e em 1885, R. Wagner constatou que um manuscrito da Biblioteca do Vaticano, que continha trechos de uma obra de Tzetzes, continha também um longo trecho resumido, extraído de todo o conteúdo da Biblioteca, incluindo o seu final perdido. Essa versão resumida (ou epítome) é conhecida atualmente como Epítome do Vaticano. Coincidentemente, poucos anos depois, A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus descobriu em Jerusalém um manuscrito que continha um conjunto de excertos resumidos, todos do Livro III e da parte conhecida apenas pela epítome de Tzetzes. Este manuscrito ficou conhecido como Epítome Sabaítica (devido ao monastério de São Sabbas, onde o manuscrito foi descoberto); Portanto, embora a Biblioteca tenha sido impressa pela primeira vez em uma edição moderna em 1555, foi somente com a edição de R. Wagner, de 1894, que tivemos acesso ao texto completo, ou pelo menos próximo disso. Estas duas epítomes são inestimáveis para nós por serem nossos únicos testemunhos da parte do livro que se perdeu e foram compostas em tempos diferentes, por diferentes eruditos ou copistas, e quando são contrastadas, nem sempre conservam o mesmo material ou detalhe. Este é o motivo pelo qual escolhemos traduzir uma versão combinada delas, criada por J. G. Frazer, que une as duas epítomes para criar um relato mais completo e coerente. Em nossa tradução da obra, tentamos manter a clareza e a objetividade sem pretender "embelezar", quando nosso autor não teve a intenção de fazê-lo. Compilada fielmente, embora de maneira acrítica, a partir das melhores fontes literárias disponíveis para o Pseudo Apolodoro, em sua época, a importância da Biblioteca deriva sobretudo da fidelidade com a qual ele reproduz ou resume os relatos de escritores cujas obras nos são acessíveis e nos inspira a aceitar suas afirmações também com relação a outros autores, cujos escritos desapareceram. Daí a extrema importância documental desse livro como um registro meticuloso sobre o que os gregos acreditavam a respeito da origem do mundo e da antiga história de sua raça, pois é o único testemunho de tradições perdidas de que dispomos. Os relatos breves e desprovidos de adornos dos mitos na Biblioteca levaram alguns comentadores a sugerir que mesmos as suas seções completas são um resumo de uma obra perdida.
Resumo: A Biblioteca é um compêndio em Grego antigo de mitos e lendas heroicas dispostos em três livros e foi denominado "a mais valiosa obra mitográfica dos tempos antigos que chegou até nós", mas não se sabe absolutamente quem é o seu autor. A obra que temos em mãos é atribuída a Apolodoro, o Gramático, ou seja, Apolodoro de Atenas, um erudito do século II a. C. e autor da obra Sobre os Deuses (Perì Theôn). O texto que possuímos, no entanto, menciona um autor romano, o cronista Cástor, um contemporâneo de Cícero do século I a. C. Os eruditos que se seguiram a Fócio se equivocaram na atribuição da obra. Uma vez que Apolodoro de Atenas não poderia ter escrito a obra, o autor da Biblioteca é convencionalmente denominado o "Pseudo Apolodoro" por aqueles que almejam ser estritamente precisos. As referências tradicionais mencionam apenas "a Biblioteca e Epítome". Sua primeira menção na literatura grega ocorre em 858 d. C. pelo erudito bizantino Fócio, que teve acesso à obra na íntegra, tal como ele menciona no seu "relato de livros lidos", que ela continha histórias dos heróis da Guerra de Troia e dos nóstoi (Retornos) que faltam nos manuscritos que restaram. Infelizmente, a Biblioteca chegou-nos incompleta. Nos manuscritos ela se encontra indivisa, mas por convenção, foi dividida em três livros. Parte do Livro III, que é interrompido abruptamente no meio das aventuras de Teseu, foi perdida. No século XII d. C., no entanto, John Tzetzes possuía o texto completo, e em 1885, R. Wagner constatou que um manuscrito da Biblioteca do Vaticano, que continha trechos de uma obra de Tzetzes, continha também um longo trecho resumido, extraído de todo o conteúdo da Biblioteca, incluindo o seu final perdido. Essa versão resumida (ou epítome) é conhecida atualmente como Epítome do Vaticano. Coincidentemente, poucos anos depois, A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus descobriu em Jerusalém um manuscrito que continha um conjunto de excertos resumidos, todos do Livro III e da parte conhecida apenas pela epítome de Tzetzes. Este manuscrito ficou conhecido como Epítome Sabaítica (devido ao monastério de São Sabbas, onde o manuscrito foi descoberto); Portanto, embora a Biblioteca tenha sido impressa pela primeira vez em uma edição moderna em 1555, foi somente com a edição de R. Wagner, de 1894, que tivemos acesso ao texto completo, ou pelo menos próximo disso. Estas duas epítomes são inestimáveis para nós por serem nossos únicos testemunhos da parte do livro que se perdeu e foram compostas em tempos diferentes, por diferentes eruditos ou copistas, e quando são contrastadas, nem sempre conservam o mesmo material ou detalhe. Este é o motivo pelo qual escolhemos traduzir uma versão combinada delas, criada por J. G. Frazer, que une as duas epítomes para criar um relato mais completo e coerente. Em nossa tradução da obra, tentamos manter a clareza e a objetividade sem pretender "embelezar", quando nosso autor não teve a intenção de fazê-lo. Compilada fielmente, embora de maneira acrítica, a partir das melhores fontes literárias disponíveis para o Pseudo Apolodoro, em sua época, a importância da Biblioteca deriva sobretudo da fidelidade com a qual ele reproduz ou resume os relatos de escritores cujas obras nos são acessíveis e nos inspira a aceitar suas afirmações também com relação a outros autores, cujos escritos desapareceram. Daí a extrema importância documental desse livro como um registro meticuloso sobre o que os gregos acreditavam a respeito da origem do mundo e da antiga história de sua raça, pois é o único testemunho de tradições perdidas de que dispomos. Os relatos breves e desprovidos de adornos dos mitos na Biblioteca levaram alguns comentadores a sugerir que mesmos as suas seções completas são um resumo de uma obra perdida.
Abstract: The Bibliotheke is an ancient Greek compendium of myths and heroic legends, arranged in three books and it has been called "the most valuable mythographical work that has come down from ancient times", but his author is completely unknown to us. The work has come down to us attributed to Apollodorus the Grammarian, that is, Apollodorus of Athens, a second-century BC scholar and author of On the Gods (Peri Theon). The text that we possess, however, cites a Roman author: Castor the Annalist, a contemporary of Cicero in the 1st century BC. The mistaken attribution was made by scholars from Photius onwards. Since for chronological reasons Apollodorus of Athens could not have written the book, the author of the Bibliotheke is conventionally called the "Pseudo-Apollodorus" by those wishing to be scrupulously correct. Traditional references simply instance "the Library and Epitome". The first mention of the work in the Greek literature is in AD 858 by the Byzantine scholar Photius, who had the full work before him, as he mentions in his "account of books read" that it contained stories of the heroes of the Trojan War and the nostoi, missing in surviving manuscripts. Unfortunately the Bibliotheca has come down to us incomplete. It is undivided in the manuscripts but conventionally divided in three books. Part of the third book, which breaks off abruptly in the middle of Theseus' adventures, has been lost. In the twelfth century AD, however, John Tzetzes, had a complete text too, and in 1885 R. Wagner realized that a manuscript in the Vatican Library containing excerpts of some Tzetzes' work also contained large abridged excerpts drawn from across the whole of the Bibliotheke - including the lost ending. This abridged version (or epitome) is known as the Vatican Epitome. Coincidentally, a few years later, A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus discovered in Jerusalem a manuscript that contained another set of abridged excerpts, all from the third book and the portion known only from Tzetzes' epitome. This became known as the Sabbaitic Epitome (from the monastery of St. Sabbas, where the manuscript was discovered); Thus, although the Bibliotheke was first printed in a modern edition in 1555, it was only with Wagner's edition of 1894 the we had a complete, or at least nearly complete, text. The two epitomes are invaluable for us because they are our witness to the last part of the book and were made at different times by different copyists and scholars, and when they overlap they do not always preserve the same material or detail. That is the reason why we have chosen to translate a combined version of them, created by J. G. Frazer; with stitches the separate epitomes together to create a fuller and more connect account. In our translation of the work we have tried to be clear and straightforward, without "prettying up" our author into something he is not. Compiled faithfully, if uncritically, from the best literary sources open to the Pseudo- Apollodorus, the Bibliotheke debt its importance above all to the fidelity with which he reproduced or summarized the accounts of writers whose works are accessible to us and inspires us with confidence in accepting his statements concerning others whose writings are lost. Hence his book possesses a documentary value as an accurate record of what the Greeks in general believed about the origin and early history of the world and of their race. The brief and unadorned accounts of myth in the Bibliotheca have led some commentators to suggest that even its complete sections are an epitome of a lost work.
Abstract: The Bibliotheke is an ancient Greek compendium of myths and heroic legends, arranged in three books and it has been called "the most valuable mythographical work that has come down from ancient times", but his author is completely unknown to us. The work has come down to us attributed to Apollodorus the Grammarian, that is, Apollodorus of Athens, a second-century BC scholar and author of On the Gods (Peri Theon). The text that we possess, however, cites a Roman author: Castor the Annalist, a contemporary of Cicero in the 1st century BC. The mistaken attribution was made by scholars from Photius onwards. Since for chronological reasons Apollodorus of Athens could not have written the book, the author of the Bibliotheke is conventionally called the "Pseudo-Apollodorus" by those wishing to be scrupulously correct. Traditional references simply instance "the Library and Epitome". The first mention of the work in the Greek literature is in AD 858 by the Byzantine scholar Photius, who had the full work before him, as he mentions in his "account of books read" that it contained stories of the heroes of the Trojan War and the nostoi, missing in surviving manuscripts. Unfortunately the Bibliotheca has come down to us incomplete. It is undivided in the manuscripts but conventionally divided in three books. Part of the third book, which breaks off abruptly in the middle of Theseus' adventures, has been lost. In the twelfth century AD, however, John Tzetzes, had a complete text too, and in 1885 R. Wagner realized that a manuscript in the Vatican Library containing excerpts of some Tzetzes' work also contained large abridged excerpts drawn from across the whole of the Bibliotheke - including the lost ending. This abridged version (or epitome) is known as the Vatican Epitome. Coincidentally, a few years later, A. Papadopoulos-Kerameus discovered in Jerusalem a manuscript that contained another set of abridged excerpts, all from the third book and the portion known only from Tzetzes' epitome. This became known as the Sabbaitic Epitome (from the monastery of St. Sabbas, where the manuscript was discovered); Thus, although the Bibliotheke was first printed in a modern edition in 1555, it was only with Wagner's edition of 1894 the we had a complete, or at least nearly complete, text. The two epitomes are invaluable for us because they are our witness to the last part of the book and were made at different times by different copyists and scholars, and when they overlap they do not always preserve the same material or detail. That is the reason why we have chosen to translate a combined version of them, created by J. G. Frazer; with stitches the separate epitomes together to create a fuller and more connect account. In our translation of the work we have tried to be clear and straightforward, without "prettying up" our author into something he is not. Compiled faithfully, if uncritically, from the best literary sources open to the Pseudo- Apollodorus, the Bibliotheke debt its importance above all to the fidelity with which he reproduced or summarized the accounts of writers whose works are accessible to us and inspires us with confidence in accepting his statements concerning others whose writings are lost. Hence his book possesses a documentary value as an accurate record of what the Greeks in general believed about the origin and early history of the world and of their race. The brief and unadorned accounts of myth in the Bibliotheca have led some commentators to suggest that even its complete sections are an epitome of a lost work.
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Doutor em Linguística

Persephone’s myth is unique, as it was the central narrative of one of the most prominent ancient mystery religions, and remains one of the few (certainly the most prominent) ancient Greek myths to focus on the relationship of a mother and her daughter. This unique focus must have offered her worshippers something important that they perhaps could not find elsewhere, especially as a complex and elaborate cult grew around it, transforming the divine allegory of the changing seasons or the storage of the grain beneath the earth, into a narrative offering hope for a better place in the afterlife. To understand the appeal of this myth, two aspects of her worship and mythic significance require study: the expectations of her worshippers for their own lives, to which the goddess may have been seen as a forerunner; and the mythic frameworks operating which would characterise the goddess for her worshippers. The myth, as described in The Hymn to Demeter, is initially interpreted for its literary meaning, and then set within its cultural milieu to uncover what meaning it may have had for Persephone’s worshippers, particularly in terms of marriage and death, which form the initial motivating action of the myth. From this socio-anthropological study we turn to the mythic patterns and motifs the story offers, particularly the figure of the goddess of the Underworld (primarily in the influential Mesopotamian literature), and the Dying-Rising God figure (similarly derived from the Near East). These figures, when compared to the Greek goddess, may both reveal her unique appeal, and highlight the common attractions that lie in the figures generally. By this two-part investigation, on the particular culture’s expectations and the general mythic framework she exists in, Persephone’s meaning in her native land may be uncovered and understood.

Although mythological monsters have rarely been examined in any collective and comprehensive manner, they constitute an important cosmic presence in archaic and classical Greek poetry. This thesis brings together insights from the scholarly areas of 'monster studies' and the 'sensory turn' in order to offer readings of the sounds made by monsters. I argue that the figure of the monster in Greek poetry, although it has positive attributes, does not have a fixed definition or position within the cosmos. Instead of using definitions of monstrosity to think about the role and status of Greek monsters, this thesis demonstrates that by listening to the sounds of the monster's voice, it is possible to chart its position in the cosmos. Monsters with incomprehensible, cacophonous, or dangerous voices pose greater threats to cosmic order; those whose voices are semiotic and anthropomorphic typically pose less serious threats. The thesis explores the shifting depictions of monsters according to genre and author. In Chapter 1, 'Hesiod's Theogony: The Role of Monstrosity in the Cosmos', I consider Hesiod's genealogies of monsters that circulate and threaten in the nonhuman realm, while the universe is still undergoing processes of organisation. Chapter 2, 'Homer's Odyssey: Mingling with Monsters', discusses the monster whom Odysseus encounters and even imitates in order to survive his exchanges with them. In Chapter 3, 'Monsters in Greek Lyric Poetry: Voices of Defeat', I examine Stesichorus' Geryoneis and the presence of Centaurs, Typhon, and Gorgons in Pindar's Pythian 1, 2, 3, and 12. In lyric, we find that these monsters are typically presented in terms of the monster's experience of defeat at the hands of a hero or a god. This discussion is followed by two chapters that explore the presence of the monster in Greek tragedy, entitled 'Centripetal Monsters in Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and Oresteia' and 'Centrifugal Monsters in Greek Tragedy: Euripides and Sophocles.' Here, I argue that in tragedy the monster, or the abstractly 'monstrous', is located within the figure of the human being and within the polis. The coda, 'Monstrous Mimesis and the Power of Sound', considers not only monstrous voices, but monstrous music, examining the mythology surrounding the aulos and looking at the sonic developments generated by the New Musicians.

The Gorgon is a creature described as terrible in ancient literature. It was depicted with glaring eyes, tusks and a hanging tongue and was a part of Greek antiquity from Archaic to Roman Period. The Gorgon motif has frequently been adorned on different materials. The reason as to why such a creature was depicted has been a subject of interest in earlier studies. The Gorgon motif has been elaborately studied in combination with buildings, armours and vases. A gap of knowledge that is still to be filled is a deeper examination of the Gorgon motifs on coins, which is the inspiration for this study in which the main aim is to approach an understanding of what function the Gorgon motif could have had on Archaic Greek coins. The study is based on a collection of 42 Archaic coins from Athens and Neapolis in Macedon. Through Panofsky's theory of iconography the material is analyzed and discussed via a series of sub-questions; ‘Did the Gorgon motifs differ depending on the location?’, ‘What combination of features appear on the coins?’, ‘To what extent was the Gorgon myth linked to the locations that used the motif and what other myths were used on coins during the same period? ’, ‘Is there a link between the use of Gorgon motifs on coins and on other material objects?’ The paper measures the possible explanations of the Gorgon motif with archaeological finds and ancient texts dealing with the Gorgon, many of which point to the fact that the Gorgon’s function generally served a purpose as an apotropaic symbol. Its function as a possible amulet is investigated using previous research that studies the symbolic significance of the Gorgon, as well as tracing its background and examination of the Gorgon myth to find possible connections with other mythical creatures.
Gorgonen är en varelse som beskrivs som fruktansvärd i den grekiska antikens litteratur. Den avbildas med stirrande ögon, betar och en hängande tunga. Gorgonen har varit en del av den grekiska antiken sedan dess början och har varit ett populärt motiv på olika material. Det har funnits stort intresse i tidigare studier kring anledningarna till att en sådan varelse valts att avbildas. Motivet har studerats omsorgsfullt när det har smyckat byggnader, rustningar och vaser. En lucka som inte har fyllts än inom ämnet är en djupare undersökning av gorgonmotiven på mynt, vilket även är ämnet för denna studie med syftet att närma sig en förståelse för de funktioner som Gorgonmotiven fyllde på mynt under arkaisk grekisk tid. Studien baseras på ett urval av 42 arkaiska mynt från Aten och Neapolis i Makedonien. Genom Panofskys trestegsmodell analyseras gorgonmotiv som framkommer på mynten och svarar på en rad viktiga underfrågor: Skiljer sig gorgonmotiv åt mellan platser Vilka kombinationer av gorgoner förekommer på mynten? I vilken utsträckning var gorgonmyten kopplad till de platser som använde motivet, vilka andra myter användes på mynten under samma period? Finns det ett samband mellan användningen av gorgonmotiv på mynt och på andra objekt? I uppsatsen bedöms möjliga förklaringar till gorgonmotivet med arkeologiska fynd och antika texter som behandlar gorgonen, varav många pekar mot att gorgonens funktion i allmänhet fyllde ett apotropeiskt syfte. Detta undersöks med hjälp av tidigare forskning av gorgonens symboliska betydelse samt kopplingen med andra mytiska varelser genom att spåra dess bakgrund och granskning av gorgonmyten.

Thesis (MPhil (Ancient Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to explore the purpose of monster figures by investigating the relationship between these creatures and the cultures in which they are generated. It focuses specifically on the human-animal hybrid monsters in the mythology, literature and art of ancient Greece. It attempts to answer the question of the purpose of these monsters by looking specifically at the nature of manhorse monsters and the ways in which their dichotomous internal and external composition challenged the cultural taxonomy of ancient Greece. It also looks at the function of monsters in a ritual context and how the Theseus myth, as initiation myth, and the Minotaur, as hybrid monster, conforms to the expectations of ritual monsters. The investigation starts by considering the history and uses of the term “monster” in an attempt to arrive at a reasonable definition of monstrosity. In aid of this definition, attention is also given to themes that recur when considering monster beings. This provides a basis from which the hybrid monsters of ancient Greece, the centaur and Minotaur in particular, can be considered. The next section of the thesis looks into the attitudes to animals prevalent in ancient Greece. The cultural value of certain animal types and even certain body parts have to be taken account, and the degree to which these can be traced to the nature and actions of the hybrid monster has to be considered. The main argument is divided in two sections. The first deals with the centaur as challenger to Greek cultural taxonomy. The centaur serves as an eminent example of how human-animal hybrid monsters combine the familiar and the foreign, the Self and the Other into a single complex being. The nature of this monster is examined with special reference to the ways in which the centaur, as proponent of chaos and wilderness, stands in juxtaposition to the ideals of Greek civilisation. The second section consists of an enquiry into the purpose of the hybrid monster and considers the Minotaur’s role as a facilitator of transformation. The focus is directed towards the ritual function of monsters and the ways in which monsters aid change and renewal both in individuals and in communities. By considering the Theseus-myth and the role of the Minotaur in the coming-of-age of the Attic hero as well as the city of Athens itself, the ritual theory is given application in ancient Greece. The conclusion of this thesis is that hybrid monsters, as manifestations of the internal dichotomy of man and the tenuous relationship between order and chaos, played a critical role in the personal and communal definition of man in ancient Greece.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doelstelling van hierdie tesis is om die sin van monsters te ondersoek deur te kyk na die verhouding wat bestaan tussen hierdie wesens en die gemeenskappe waarbinne hulle hul ontstaan het. Die tesis fokus spesifiek op die mens-dier hibriede monster in die mitologie, literatuur en kuns van antieke Griekeland. Dit probeer om tot ‘n slotsom te kom oor die bestaansrede van monsters deur te kyk na die aard van die man-perd monster. Hierdie wese se tweeledige samestelling – met betrekking tot beide sy interne en eksterne komposisie – het ‘n wesenlike bedreiging ingehou vir die kulturele taksonomie van die antieke Grieke. Die tesis kyk ook na die rol, van monsters in die konteks van rituele gebeure. Die mite van Theseus as ‘n mite met rituele verbintenisse, en die Minotaurus as hibriede monster, word dan oorweeg om te bepaal wat die ooreenstemming is met die verwagtinge wat daargestel is vir rituele monsters. Ten einde ‘n redelike definisie van monsteragtigheid daar te stel, begin die ondersoek deur oorweging te skenk aan die geskiedenis en die gebruike van die woord “monster”. Ter ondersteuning van hierdie definisie word daar ook aandag geskenk aan sekere temas wat herhaaldelik opduik wanneer monsters ter sprake kom. Dit skep ‘n basis vir die ondersoek na die hibriede monsters van antieke Griekeland, en meer spesifiek na die kentaurus en die Minotaurus. Die tesis oorweeg ook die houding van die antieke Griekse beskawing teenoor diere. Die kulturele waarde van sekere soorte diere, en selfs seker ledemate van diere, moet in ag geneem word wanneer die hibriede monsterfiguur behandel word. Aandag moet geskenk word aan die maniere waarop die assosiasies wat die Grieke met diere gehad het, oorgedra word na die aard en handelinge van die monsterfiguur. Die hoofargument van die tesis word in twee dele uiteengesit. Die eerste gedeelte behandel die kentaurus as uitdager van die kulturele taksonomie van die antieke Grieke. Die kentaurus dien as ‘n uitstekende voorbeeld van die manier waarop die mens-dier monster dit wat bekend is en dit wat vreemd is, die Self en die Ander, kombineer in een komplekse wese. Die aard van hierdie wese word ondersoek met spesifieke verwysing na die maniere waarop die kentaurus, as voorstander van die ongetemde en van chaos, in teenstelling staan teenoor die ideale van die Griekse beskawing. Die tweede gedeelte vors die doel van die hibriede monster na en oorweeg die Minotaurus se rol as bevorderaar van transformasie. Hier word gefokus op die rol van die monster in ’n rituele konteks en die maniere waarop monsters verandering en vernuwing teweegbring in enkelinge sowel as in gemeenskappe. Hierdie teorie word van toepassing gemaak op antieke Griekeland deur die mite van Theseus en die rol van die Minotaurus te oorweeg binne die konteks van die proses van inburgering wat beide die held en sy stad, Athene, ondergaan. Die gevolgtrekking van hierdie tesis is dat hibriede monsters, as uitbeeldings van die interne tweeledigheid van die mens sowel as van die tenger verband tussen orde en chaos in die wêreld, ‘n noodsaaklike rol gespeel het in die persoonlike en sosiale definisie van die individu in antieke Griekeland.

The myth of Circe and Odysseus has been told, interpreted and retold from Homer's time to the present. This thesis begins with a detailed study of Homer's balancing of positive and negative elements of the myth and argues that Homer's Circe is connected with age-old traditions of goddess worship, particularly of Artemis of Ephesus. Chapters III and IV investigate the cultural context in which the purely negative Circe of the Homeric allegorists developed and how this allegorical Circe affected works by other ancient writers, particularly Virgil and Ovid. Later chapters demonstrate how this negative allegorical view of Circe prevailed through the Renaissance and seventeenth century, as evidenced in mythographies, Calderon's plays and by Spenser's Acrasia. The study concludes that allegorical interpretations of the Circe myth were founded on body-soul dualism, so that not until this belief is questioned and abandoned by Joyce and Atwood in the twentieth century are more original and/or positive Circes found.

This thesis charts divine assembly scenes in ancient Mesopotamian narrative poetry and the early Greek hexameter corpus, and aims to contribute to a cross-cultural comparison in terms of literary systems. The recurrent scene of the divine gathering is shown to underpin the construction of small- and large-scale compositions in both the Sumero-Akkadian and early Greek traditions. Parts 1 and 2 treat each corpus in turn, reflecting a methodological concern to assess the comparanda within their own context first. Part 1 (Chapters 1-4) examines Sumerian narrative poems, and the Akkadian narratives Atra-hsīs, Anzû, Enûma eliš, Erra and Išum and the Epic of Gilgameš. Part 2 (Chapters 5-8) considers Homer's Iliad, the Odyssey, the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod's Theogony. The comparative approaches in Part 3 are developed in two chapters (9-10). Chapter 9 offers a detailed comparison of this typical scene's poetic morphology and compositional purpose. Relevant techniques and effects, a function of the aural reception of literature, are shown to overlap to a considerable degree. Although the Greeks are unlikely to have taken over the feature from the Near East, it is suggested that the Greek divine assembly is not to be detached form a Near Eastern context. Because the shared elements are profoundly embedded in the Greek orally-derived poetic tradition, it is possible to envisage a long-term process of oral contact and communication fostered by common structures. Chapter 10 turns to a comparison of the literary pantheon: a focus on the organisation of divine prerogatives and the chief god figures illuminates culture-specific differences which can be related to historical socio-political conditions. Thus, this thesis seeks to enhance our understanding of the representation of the gods in Mesopotamian poetry and early Greek epic, and develops a systemic approach to questions of transmission and cultural appreciation.