The Story of Myth

Sarah Iles Johnston

Published by Harvard University Press 2018

The Story of Myth

Sarah Iles Johnston

https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674989573

Overview
Contents

About this book

Sarah Iles Johnston argues that the nature of myths as gripping tales starring vivid characters enabled them to do their most important work: sustaining belief in the gods and heroes of Greek religion. She shows how Greek myths—and the stories told by all cultures—affect our shared view of the cosmos and the creatures who inhabit it.

Reviews

With unparalleled audacity and finesse, Sarah Iles Johnston cuts loose from traditional scholarship and connects us with the complicated, mysterious, high-wattage world of Greek myths. How did they gather their power and energize audiences? Johnston shows us how stories about Zeus, Theseus, Arachne, or Hecate not only entertained, engaged, and animated in their time but also did the important cultural work of shaping beliefs and values.
-- Maria Tatar, author of Enchanted Hunters and coeditor of The Annotated African American Folktales

Why people tell stories based on myths and how they come to believe those stories is central to understanding religion. In this compelling book, Sarah Johnston offers brilliant new analyses of the Greek myths and the stories through which they circulated in the ancient world. It will change the way in which we talk about myths, Greek literature, and religion.
-- T. M. Luhrmann, author of When God Talks Back

Sarah Johnston has produced a wholly original treatment of ancient Greek mythology. Writing with verve and lucidity, she gives us a new way to understand myth’s enduring power to speak to us all.
-- Peter Struck, author of Divination and Human Nature

The Story of Myth provides a vivid and clear account of how Greek myths engage ancient and modern audiences both cognitively and emotionally. Johnston probes the rich, elaborate evidence found in myths to uncover what the ancient Greeks thought and felt about their world. Using comparisons that range from the ancient myths of other cultures to contemporary movies and television series, Johnston shows parallels in modes of thought and expression while highlighting what makes Greek mythology distinctive.
-- Radcliffe Edmonds, author of Myths of the Underworld Journey

An excellent overview of Greek myth.
-- Robert A. Segal Times Higher Education

In this elegantly written, meticulously researched volume, Johnston invites the reader to consider how ancient Greek audiences experienced myths and to take seriously the narrative forms, rich with plots and characters (many gods, even more heroes), in which these compositions appeared.
-- Choice

Entertaining and clarifying.
-- Carl Rudbeck Svenska Dagbladet

Johnston is to be commended for such an informed, clear, and impressive work, which brings Greek myth back to the core of Greek religion and religious belief in Greek antiquity.
-- Nickolas P. Roubekas Religious Studies Review

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Note on Transliterations and Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. The Story of Myth Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. Ritual’s Handmaid Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	34
3. Narrating Myths Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
4. The Greek Mythic Story World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
5. Characters Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
6. Metamorphoses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
7. Heroes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	220
Epilogue Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	287
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	329
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	345
Index of Names and Terms Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	349
Index Locorum Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	359

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Pages
- Main content: 350

eBook

Published: December 3, 2018
ISBN: 9780674989573