Classical Myth Research Articles

Futuristic Visions and Classical Myths: Nonlinear Time as a Device for Reinterpreting Antique Plots in Dan Simmons’ Novel “Ilium”

Ancient mythology remains an important source of inspiration for contemporary literature, where its plots and images are used to reinterpret universal questions of human existence. In the context of postmodern and metamodern paradigms prioritizing non-linearity, intertextuality, and multi-layered narratives, mythology becomes a tool for examining such fundamental themes as time, space, and fate. The works of Dan Simmons, in particular his Trojan Dylogy, are relevant for study due to the combination of ancient stories with science fiction and the question of the relationship between the past, future and present. The purpose of the article is to study the interpretation of the passage of time in ancient mythology through the prism of postmodern and metamodern approaches that transform mythological concepts of time and space in Dan Simmons' novel Ilium. The research uses a comparative analysis of ancient sources and Simmons' works. An interdisciplinary approach is applied, which includes elements of a philosophical study of the mythos in the Ilium, taking into account cultural, historical and social aspects. In his novels, Dan Simmons creates a unique chronotope where the past, present, and future are intertwined. The Trojan War in his novels takes place in the future under the supervision of the gods of Olympus, while modern people and characters from antiquity interact with each other. A key feature of these novels is the use of the laws of time: non-linear temporal dimensions and the possibility of changing the foreseen future become central themes. The reinterpretation of classical mythology in modern literature, as exemplified by the works of Dan Simmons, demonstrates the meaning-forming role of ancient stories in the study of complex philosophical topics. Simmons successfully integrates mythological elements into science fiction, allowing us to explore the issues of time, space, and human freedom within postmodern and metamodern discourses.

Imágenes del pasado en la cultura visual contemporánea

The reuse of ancestral iconographies in contemporary contexts is a cultural practice with a long historical background. In architecture and the visual arts, the revival of Greco-Roman antiquity in Europe or North America, or neo-indigenism in Latin America, are examples of this. In present-day culture, it manifests itself in various forms, from reinterpretations of classical myths in advertising or comics, to the use of iconography from classical or pre-Hispanic antiquity in music or urban art. Contemporary visual artists also reinterpret the pre-Hispanic past to address current social and political issues. These retrospective borrowings not only enrich cultural expression, but also challenge dominant narratives, promote diversity and raise awareness of history and cultural identity.

From Agni to Agency: Sita’s Liberation in Arni and Chitrakar’s Graphic Retelling of the Ramayana

The traditional interpretations of the Ramayana have been critiqued for preserving and promoting patriarchal gender structures by emphasising masculine heroism and often portraying female characters as unidimensional symbols of selflessness, purity, and honour. This paper analyses how Samhita Arni and Chitrakar’s graphic novel Sita’s Ramayana offers a retelling that foregrounds Sita’s perspective to question and reinterpret the social constructs. By analysing the text through a feminist literary lens, this paper examines how the novel adapts the traditional narrative to provide centre stage to Sita’s various encounters with instances of oppression. The findings reveal how Arni’s retelling employs unique aesthetics that combine texts and Chitrakar’s patua art illustrations to question the traditional male-centred versions, making this novel a part of a broader structure of feminist reinterpretations that aim to highlight female agency in cultural canons. This paper examines Sita’s stance against societal expectations for women, such as self-sacrifice, while also tracking her personal growth, which is symbolically represented by her reunion with Mother Earth. The novel contributes to the ongoing tradition of literary revisionism by offering a nuanced critique of the patriarchal foundations within classical myths. This is underscored by the novel’s reinterpretation of the epic in a way that points out the plasticity of the Ramayana, which can be reshaped to support more progressive views, encouraging discourse on existing gender norms present in contemporary societies.

What Would Hercules Do? Lessons for Autistic Children Using Classical Myth (S.) Deacy Pp. 202, b/w & colour ills. Warsaw: University of Warsaw Press, 2023. Cased, £16.99. ISBN: 9788323558729.

What Would Hercules Do? Lessons for Autistic Children Using Classical Myth (S.) Deacy Pp. 202, b/w & colour ills. Warsaw: University of Warsaw Press, 2023. Cased, £16.99. ISBN: 9788323558729.

“What then art thou?”: Demogorgon, Son of God and Savior of the World in Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound

ABSTRACT At the climactic fall of Jupiter in Prometheus Unbound, the deposed tyrant god asks his destroyer—the mysterious Demogorgon—“What then art thou?” This article seeks an answer to that question by uncovering the linguistic and theological contexts of Demogorgon. Specifically, I position Prometheus Unbound among historical arguments on Christology in the early nineteenth century, in which traditional arguments for the divinity of Christ were bolstered by Christian apologetic readings of classical myth. However, against these apologetic syncretists, novel reconsiderations of classical mythology and biblical hermeneutics in the period coincided with challenges to Christ’s divinity and Trinitarian theology. Amid the resulting Christological instability, Prometheus Unbound synchronizes Christian religious belief with pagan mythical figures, most notably recasting Demogorgon—the destroyer of gods—as Christ Himself. By rewriting the symbol of Christ, Shelley is free to reimagine Christian eschatology in terms that transvaluate the teachings of the English state church. This article sheds light on the religious implications of Prometheus Unbound’s enigmatic figure Demogorgon, and also contributes to critical conversations on Shelley and Christianity, and the development of Christian doctrine in the early nineteenth century.

THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF MYTHS IN POLITICS

A myth in politics can be defined as an altered form of political consciousness, in which knowledge and understanding of factual information is replaced by images, symbols. In this paper, we proceed from the understanding that, unlike the political myth, a classical myth is a universal narrative (narrative), a traditional legend that figuratively interprets historical events and serves to explain natural phenomena and meanings, the origin of customs, traditions, beliefs - human civilizations and the whole world as a whole, through allegorical emotional and sensual images. Usually the origin of a traditional myth is unknown, while a myth that has a political nature is often professionally launched and has a specific circle of people for whose benefit it is created. In the political struggle, myths can be used as purposefully created and disseminated stories (narratives), sacralizing the existing system of power and denigrating its opponents in the public mind. The article discusses the role of political myth in world history and politics. Also presented is a model for the analysis of myths in politics, which includes the definition of the essence, structure, features, processes and functions of myths in politics. A comparative analysis of traditional and political myths has been carried out.

The Evolution of Female Characters From Antiquity to Modernity: An Examination of Marinna Carr's and Carol Lashof's Adaptations of Classical Mythology

Literature relies heavily on mythology. Myths are stories of deities, monsters or immortals which are transformed from one generation to the other. In addition to documenting the religious and cultural experiences of a specific community, myths also outline the consequent literary, artistic and dramatic customs. Some Greek myths have survived for thousands of years because they accurately depict historical events, cultural values, and trends. Among the most famous classical myths are the myths of Medusa and Medea. As for the myth of Medusa, the earliest known record was found in Theogony (700BC) by Hesiod (8 th-7th century BC). A later version of the Medusa myth was made by the Roman poet Ovid (43BC –17/18AD), in his “Metamorphoses” (3-8 AD). Then again, Medea is a tragedy produced in 431 BC by the Greek playwright Euripides(480–406BC) based on the myth of Jason and Medea. Both Medusa and Medea are among the most fascinating and complex female protagonists in Greek mythology which have captivated many writers and playwrights for ages. In the twentieth century, there were many adaptations of both mythological figures; among these adaptations were those made by contemporary American and Irish women playwrights like Carol Lashof (1956-) and Marinna Carr (1964-). This paper examines the myths of Medusa and Medea and analyses the ways these myths are borrowed, refashioned and exploited in Lashof’s Medusa’s Tale (1991) and Carr’s By the Bog of Cats (1998). Both playwrights explore hidden dimensions of the traditional myths, combining elements from the old and modern worlds.

Apocalypse Now? Kate Atkinson Reads Ovid’s Metamorphoses

Kate Atkinson’s short story collection, Not the End of the World (2002), has typically puzzled reviewers, unsure of its goals and hesitant about its success. This essay offers an alternative, by reading the collection through the lens of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Atkinson clearly signals her debt to Ovid in several epigraphs, but the overall impression left with readers who know Ovid only as a repository of classical myth has caused Atkinson’s remarkably inventive reception of Ovidian poetics to be misread. Atkinson uses the Latin poet’s interest in change and its often strange permutations as a way of interrogating contemporary concerns about consumerism, environmental degradation, and cultural forgetfulness, against a backdrop of post-apocalyptic fantasy. The result is both a new appreciation for Atkinson’s brilliance and a fresh approach to Ovid’s transformative masterpiece.

From the Food Myths of the Past to the Food Myths of the Present

This article presents a series of food myths, some from the past, typical of very different societies, and which are more or less marvelous or fantastic narratives, in accordance with the meanings of classical mythology; and other food myths, those of the present, in which the word “myth” with which they are qualified serves to indicate an error, a lie or falsehood that must be corrected or denied. The article tries to explain the difference in meanings, contents and uses for these food myths of the past and of the present. The food myths of the past, of which several examples are offered, generally have to do with solutions to the various types and degrees of problems related to potential food shortages and/or to the need to ensure a food supply in exceptional circumstances. On the other hand, the so-called food myths of the present, very abundant and very diverse, generally have to do with foods to which important dietary particularities are attributed, either beneficial or harmful to health. The reason for this change would be that since the 1960s, with the so-called Green Revolution and the Industrial Revolution applied to the food industry, the availability of all types of food would have increased considerably to the point where the problems of today are not those caused by shortages or supply difficulties, but diseases caused by an excess of food. Science in general, and medicalization and nutritionalization in particular, placed at the service of health and the body, would, on the one hand, have contributed to banishing the gods and cultural heroes typical of classical myths, and, on the other hand, would have put themselves at the service of food health, combating false claims that can be attributed to food.

Liz Lochhead and the Fairies: Context and Influence in Grimm Sisters and Dreaming Frankenstein

Examines the Scottish poet Liz Lochhead's period of North American travel and her response to American second-wave feminist poetics, particularly to the anthology No More Masks! (1973) and the poetry of Adrienne Rich and Anne Sexton, the treatment of myth by J.G. Frazer and Robert Graves, and the perspective on Scottish fairy tales offered by folklorists, to explore Lochhead's creative reworking of both fairy tale and classical myth in her collections Grimm Sisters (1981) and Dreaming Frankenstein (1984).

Love declaration: from Ovid and Seneca to O’Neill

This paper aims to explore the literary topos of the “declaration of love” by examining its origins in selected Roman texts and its reinvigoration in Eugene O’Neill’s modern play, Anna Christie (1921). The classical “declaration of love” is argued to encompass various stages, including admiration of the beloved, praising the lover, encouraging the pursuit of love and enjoyment of youth through marriage (carpe diem), expressing emotions, and extending an invitation to partnership. By analysing the recontextualization of this topos in O’Neill’s four-act play, it is established that while Anna Christie’s plot does not directly imitate any classical myth, the incorporation of the topos can be likened to the structure found in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, specifically the myth of Vertumnus and Pomona, as well as the ambiguous expression of love by Phaedra in Seneca’s tragedy. Consequently, the connection between these texts is based on the presence of a shared structure (classical topos) rather than direct influence or reception.

Joseph Campbell’s Oriental mythology in Ghost in the Shell (1995) and Occidental mythology in Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Adaptation studies in media have been carried out for decades since the 1950s. When media is adapted between different forms, the narrative inherently changes; even more so when they cross a cultural divide between Japan and the United States. That is precisely the topic of discussion between the anime Ghost in the Shell (1995) and its live action film adaptation Ghost in the Shell (2017). With narrative being a key focus for comparison in this article, Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey is applied. Taken from his seminal work Hero with a Thousand Faces, the theory of the Hero’s Journey has been the go-to reference for monomyth studies for decades which identifies the parallelism and common themes in diverse stories, from classic myths embedded in ancient cultures to film and other contemporary media based on popular culture. Yet, most studies stop there, and do not consider bringing in Campbell’s other works—namely his follow-up collection of books The Masks of God which delves deeper into the mythologies of various regions. His books, Oriental Mythology and Occidental Mythology, zeroes in on the myths in the East and West, which would aid in conducting comparisons between materials originating from the two opposite regions, further supplementing its usefulness in adaptation studies concerning Japanese anime and their corresponding Hollywood adaptations. This article covers the changes in narrative themes corresponding to Campbell’s Oriental and Occidental mythology between the anime Ghost in the Shell (1995) and its live action film adaptation Ghost in the Shell (2017).

On the trail of Sisyphus - addiction as an existential neurosis?

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, king of the Corinthians, dared to deceive the gods and was condemned to roll a boulder to the top of a mountain for all eternity. Shortly before reaching the summit, however, the boulder rolled back down into the valley, and the arduous task had to begin anew. Many of the contents of this classic myth are reminiscent of the therapeutic approach to addictive disorders. In addiction therapy, too, it is often a long and rocky road that ends with a relapse. The therapeutic effort was not entirely in vain, but one often begins to doubt its usefulness. In terms of Sisyphus and a Bio-Psycho-Social Model (BPSM) of health and disease, addiction can be located at the end of a downward spiral. By extension of the BPSM, can addictive disease be considered an expression of existential neurosis? The results of our own research speak in favor of this and show a clearly reduced experience of sense and meaning, but also diminished feelings of hope and forgiveness in addiction patients. However, positive correlations between various parameters of existential well-being and mental health or more appropriate stress coping are also found for the addiction group. These results are supported by neuronal correlates and are mirrored in the general population. Based on this, the consideration of existential issues in addiction therapy can be discussed. Finally, the use of art therapy and work training are proposed as examples of a meaning based therapeutic intervention in dealing with people with addictive diseases.

Review of the Book “Monsters and Monarchs: Serial Killers in Classical Myths and History”

Serial killers have been a popular topic in literature for centuries, appearing in works of fiction, non-fiction, and even poetry. In literature, serial killers often represent the dark side of human nature, and their stories often explore the depths of depravity and the psychological motivations behind their heinous acts. Examples of serial killers can be found throughout history and mythology. With all that the public’s attention is usually focused on the serial murders of the latest decades, with the historical cases still generally remaining in the obscure. The reason for that lack of publicity is that serial killers in antiquity are difficult to identify, because the concept of serial killing is a relatively modern one. One of the pleasant exceptions is a book by Debbie Felton “Monsters and Monarchs: Serial Killers in Classical Myths and History” published by University of Texas Press, 2021, 235 pp., ISBN: 978-1-4773-2357-1 (paperback edition). This article reviews the book and comments on its contents and style.

Mitik Kadın Temsilinin Mitolojik Unsurlardan Arındırılması: Antik Hikayelerin Eleştirel Bakış Açısıyla Yeniden Tasavvur Edilmesi

Ancient Greek myths, as the architect of the patriarchal ideology, serve as a panorama of the reality, which women in all ages around the world face and are forced to experience. Based on the fossilized ideas of the archaic philosophy, the mythological narratives are at the center of a canon which reveals, internalizes and legitimates the binary oppositions between the sexes. Although myths are set in the past and thus seem to be bygone, the events and characters still mirror the modern age: nothing seems to have changed concerning the negative perception of womanhood. This essay does echo the feminist writer Cixous’s challenge to awaken all women to discover their own power by not yielding to man-made stories but writing their own realities. In this direction in this study, the classical myths are reimagined from postfeminist perspective with the purpose of subverting the dynamics of patriarchy and phallocentrism.

Las fuentes de un episodio satírico-alegórico en El Bernardo de Balbuena: la seducción de Ferragut por la hechicera Arleta

Abstract This article studies the literary sources of a meritorious satirical-allegorical episode recounted, mainly, in book VII of El Bernardo of Balbuena: the seductiveness of Ferragut by the enchantress Arleta. The complex exercise of imitatio multiplex with which Balbuena combines the texts of Amadís de Gaula with the romanzi of Boiardo and Ariosto, together with the myth of Psyche and Cupid in the Asinus aureus version and/or, more probably, the chivalric history of El Conde Partinuplés is studied. Likewise, the allegorical interpretation of the episode offered by Balbuena is examined in line with the traditional one attributed to the classical myth and with the contemporary proposals for the Ariostean episode.

Subverting Looming Disasters: Weaving as Power Motif Across Classical, Old English, and Norse Myth

The mythic motif of weaving often depicts women exerting control over their surroundings through cunning and skill. Contrary to perceptions of weaving as constrained action in classical myth, however, weaving in Old English and Norse myth connotes a metaphor of oral storytelling, embedded in the Icelandic term “Þáttr,” meaning both “short story” and “thread.” As a result, weaving in Old English and Norse myth often provides a space for women to influence wars from the loom. By examining classical, Old English, and Old Norse myth, we can better understand how weaving, speaking, and power intertwine within ancient power dynamics.

The Lack of the Father: Intersections of Greek and Israeli Mythology in the Photographs of Adi Nes

Perfectly staged photographs that dramatize mythological stories of the geographical and cultural periphery, to which Israeli society rarely directs its attention, constitute the essence of the “Boys” series (2000) by the photographer Adi Nes. This article examines how photography employs Greek mythology to stage emancipatory horizons for those oppressed due to their ethnic identity. By exposing the core of the Classical myths, the photographs reveal their continuing relevance, as well as their formative function as a source of meaning and interpretation, and as a medium for viewing and understanding modern and contemporary art.

Mythology in Modern Literature: An Exploration of Myths and Legends in Sylvia Plath’s Poetry

Mythology has become an intrinsic part of literature for the symbolic, structural and functional values it imparts to a text. Although the use of myths and legends in literature has been transformed contextually over the different literary periods, modern writers extensively reappropriated and used them to portray the complexity of the theme and narrative structure of a text. They illustrated the contemporary fragmented reality and individual experience through myths. By incorporating myths in a text, modern writers sometimes created fictionalized and artificial myths of their own. American poet Sylvia Plath made personalized use of myths and legends in her poetry. The paper shows how she, as a confessional poet, amalgamates her personal anxiety and distress with characters and symbols from diverse mythological sources such as the story of Medusa, Medea, Persephone, Electra etc. Apart from classical myths, she incorporated European folktales, Norse and Arthurian myths. Her extensive use of myths portrays the condition of women and the role of patriarchy from a feminist perspective. It also illustrates her attitude toward her father and mother, her distress, agony and suicidal attempts and sometimes expresses her views on life and the contemporary world. Like many modern poets, she turned away from the traditional and orthodox poetic practice and rechanneled her individual crises into poetry which is full of mythological symbols and images.

Adapting Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale and Beyond

Palgrave’s Adapting Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale and Beyond provides a timely exploration of Atwood’s work within new and dynamic critical frameworks, addressing how Atwood adapts classical myths and other literary works, the way her work is adapted and—in the interviews that complete the critical collection—the reflections of theatrical directors and cinematographers working with Atwood’s novels. This critical collection engages with themes of narrative, utopia, dystopia, feminism, posthumanism and the body, while simultaneously seeking “to limit any form of totalizing discourse—including [Atwood’s] own” (8). The wide-ranging essays share a common agenda to place Atwood’s work in dialogue with all the adaptations that “link past, present and future and provide sometimes uncomfortable, if not cataclysmic, truths” (5–6). The collection maps Atwood’s work through different historical, theoretical, and stylistic interpretations, addressing with the first five essays why and how “Atwood Adapts” (14). Marta Dvořák offers a critically rich exploration of Hag-Seed (2016) and The Heart Goes Last (2015), addressing “the intertextual playfulness of both texts” (6), while Ruby Niemann engages with The Journals of Susanna Moodie (1970), The Penelopiad (2006) and Hag-Seed, assessing the three adaptations through the lens of colonization and hauntology. Lena Crucitti uses Dominique Lestel’s definition of the human and Stanley Holling’s concept of resilience to examine the MaddAddam trilogy (2003–13) “as an adaptation of a dystopian [...] plural and monstrous” narrative that “reminds the readers that it is their own monstrosity and fragmentation that have allowed them to survive in the animal kingdom” (60). Nicole Côté, in a similar vein, offers a reading of MaddAddam as an adaptation of Survival, Atwood’s 1972 non-fiction text, in which she “shows Canadian literature evolving from perceiving nature as monstrous to perceiving humans as monstrous towards nature” (63). Côté also examines Atwood’s use of irony and humorous neologisms that uplift a gloomy background and offer hope for the survival of the human race. Penny Farfan’s essay employs a feminist lens to compare The Penelopiad as a theatrical adaptation (2007) and The Handmaid’s Tale as a television adaptation (2017–) and states that The Penelopiad offers a non-cathartic but clear closure, while The Handmaid’s Tale adaptation, which needs to keep on providing popular entertainment, remains open ended.