
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1. The Problem of the Genre: What Is Mythography? 1. The Problem of the Genre: What Is Mythography?
-
2. Myth and Mythos 2. Myth and Mythos
-
3. Myth and Mythography 3. Myth and Mythography
-
4. A New Technology: Writing 4. A New Technology: Writing
-
5. The Construction of the Author and the “Mythographical” Reason 5. The Construction of the Author and the “Mythographical” Reason
-
6. Oral Sources, Written Communication: An Extra-institutional Memory 6. Oral Sources, Written Communication: An Extra-institutional Memory
-
7. The Time of the Mythographers 7. The Time of the Mythographers
-
Further Reading Further Reading
-
References References
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 The Origins of Mythography as a Genre
Get accessJordi Pàmias is professor at the Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona. His fields of interest are Greek mythology, mythography and religion, and their scientific reception. He is the editor of the reference text of Eratosthenes Catasterisms (Budé, 2013). His most recent works include “The Reception of Greek Myth”, in L. Edmunds (ed.), Approaches to Greek Myth, 2014; and “Greek Mythographic Tradition”, in R.D. Woodard (ed.), Cambridge History of Mythology and Mythography (forthcoming at Cambridge University Press).
-
Published:20 October 2022
Cite
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the origins and early development of mythography in late archaic and classical Greece. A particular form of the reception of myth, mythographical collections are one of the results of the rapid spread of alphabetic writing, particularly from the 6th century bce onward. The chapter argues that even though the words mythography and mythographer are not attested until much later, these authors were in possession of a category comparable to our “myth” understood as a type of account that belongs to a heritage from which they are separated by a gap, onto which they can cast an objective gaze. Indeed, writing was a necessary instrument for encouraging a new attitude towards tradition. And the use of written prose had lasting effects. Critical intertextuality, a text that responds dialectically to preexisting texts, is consolidated with the transcription of myths by the early mythographers. Their writings respond to the tradition since they place the canonical texts of ancient poetry on the same level as the opinion of a ordinary private individual, who expresses himself in simple, secular prose. Unlike oral transmission, which is more restricted and more suitable for the elites to be able to exercise control over the spread of information, dissemination in writing guarantees a mass circulation of the text that is less controlled and more “democratic.”
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
December 2022 | 2 |
January 2023 | 5 |
March 2023 | 4 |
April 2023 | 8 |
May 2023 | 2 |
June 2023 | 2 |
July 2023 | 2 |
August 2023 | 3 |
September 2023 | 11 |
October 2023 | 4 |
November 2023 | 12 |
December 2023 | 6 |
January 2024 | 5 |
February 2024 | 3 |
March 2024 | 3 |
April 2024 | 9 |
May 2024 | 9 |
June 2024 | 9 |
July 2024 | 6 |
August 2024 | 4 |
September 2024 | 7 |
October 2024 | 15 |
November 2024 | 8 |
December 2024 | 2 |
January 2025 | 5 |
February 2025 | 9 |
March 2025 | 8 |
April 2025 | 7 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.