Myths and Tragedies in their Ancient Greek Contexts

This work brings together eleven of Richard Buxton's studies of Greek mythology and Greek tragedy, focusing especially on the interrelationship between the two, and their importance to the Greeks themselves. Situating and contextualizing topics and themes, such as mountains, (were)wolves, mythological names, movement/stillness, blindness, and feminization, within the world of ancient Greece - its landscapes, social and moral priorities, and mental structures - he traces the intricate variations and retellings which they underwent in Greek antiquity. Although each chapter has appeared in print in some form before, each has been thoroughly revised for the present book, taking into account recent research. The introduction sets out the principles and objectives which underlie Buxton's approach to Greek myths, and how he sees his own method in relation to those of his predecessors and contemporaries.

1 - Imaginary Greek Mountains
2 - Wolves and Werewolves in Greek Thought
3 - Mythological Names: The Case of melas
4 - The Myth of Talos: Vulnerability, ichor, and Boundary-Crossing
5 - Movement and Stillness: Versions of Medea
6 - Tragedy and Greek Myth
7 - Time, Space, and Ideology: Tragic Myths and the Athenian Polis
8 - Bafflement in Greek Tragedy
9 - Blindness and Limits: Sophokles and the Logic of Myth
10 - Euripides Alkestis: Five Aspects of an Interpretation
11 - Feminized Males in Bakchai: The Importance of Discrimination

Richard Buxton is Emeritus Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the University of Bristol.