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| Record 7 out of 296 |
 
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| Record Number | 000270974 |
| ISBN |
 9780199693979 (hbk.)
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0199693978 (hbk.)
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| Title |
Myth, truth, and narrative in Herodotus / edited by Emily Baragwanath and Mathieu de Bakker.
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| Imprint |
Oxford : Oxford University Press, c2012.
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| Descr. | xi, 370 p. ; 23 cm. |
| Language | eng |
| Bibliogr. | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents | Preface and acknowledgments ; List of contributors ; Introduction ; Part I: From Myth to Historical Method ; 1. Myth and Legend in Herodotus’ First Book ; 2. Herodotus and the ’Myth’ of the Trojan War ; 3. Herodotus’ Proteus: Myth, History, Inquiry and Storytelling ; 4. The Helen logos and Herodotus’ Fingerprint ; 5. ’Strangers are from Zeus’: Homeric Xenia at the Courts of Proteus and Croesus ; 6. Herodotus on Melampus ; Part II: Myth and History ; 7. Herodotus and the Heroic Age: The Case of Minos ; 8. Myth and Truth in Herodotus’ Cyrus Logos ; 9. Herodotus and Eastern Myths and Logoi: Deioces the Mede and Pythius the Lydian ; 10. The Mythical Origins of the Medes and the Persians ; 11. Mythology and the Expedition of Xerxes ; 12. Returning to Troy: Herodotus and the Mythic Discourse of his Own Time ; References ; General index ; Index Locorum |
| Abstract | Herodotus, the ’Father of History’, is infamously known for having employed elements more akin to mythological tales than to unvarnished ’truth’ in translating his historical research into narrative form. While these narratives provide valuable source material, he could not have surmised the hostile reception his work would receive in later generations. This mythical aspect of the Histories led many successors, most notoriously Plutarch, to blame Herodotus for spinning far-fetched lies, and to set him apart as an untrustworthy historian. Echoes of the same criticism resounded in twentieth-century scholarship, which found it difficult to reconcile Herodotus’ ambition to write historical stories ’as they really happened’ with the choices he made in shaping their form. This volume brings together 13 original articles written by specialists in the fields of ancient Greek literature and history. Each article seeks to review, re-establish, and rehabilitate the origins, forms, and functions of the Histories’ mythological elements. These contributions throw new light on Herodotus’ talents as a narrator, underline his versatility in shaping his work, and reveal how he was inspired by and constantly engaged with his intellectual milieu. The Herodotus who emerges is a Herculean figure, dealing with a vast quantity of material, struggling with it as with the Hydra’s many-growing heads, and ultimately rising with consummate skill to the organisational and presentational challenges it posed. The volume ultimately concludes that far from being unrelated to the ’historical’ aspects of Herodotus’ text, the ’mythic’ elements prove vital to his presentation of history. |
| Per.Sub. |
Herodotus Histories
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Herodotus -- Criticism and interpretation
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| Subject - Lib.Cong. |
Narrative (Rhetoric)
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Mythology
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| Add.Entry |
Baragwanath, Emily 1977-
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Bakker, Mathieu de
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| Holdings | All items |
| holdings (2) |
Blegen Library
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| holdings (2) |
British School Library
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| Holdings (5) | Only filtered items |
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