The Sources

Abstract

Abstract Before attempting to classify and interpret the myths themselves I shall consider the literary sources in which they appear.1 This will serve two functions. First, it seems helpful for the understanding of the myths to have some general idea of the contexts in which they appear and the sort literary uses to which they are put. Secondly, there is the more specific question of their date of origin. It is often suggested that the stories of meta-morphosis, most of which do not appear before the Alexandrian period, are largely the invention of the Hellenistic poets. As we have little evidence for the meta morphosis myths apart from the literary sources it is difficult to draw any conclusions on external grounds, and one can only attempt to answer the question by examining the nature and purpose of these poems and of the earlier works that neglected these stories. It is necessary to consider both whether these stories are late inventions and whether this means they are myths of a different status from the earlier ones.