EXPLORING EXPLORING “There is no better guide to virtually all one needs to know to begin to appreciate what myth was and meant to the ancient Greeks. Exploring Greek Myth is the first EXPLORING book a student should read after the myths themselves.” Eric Csapo, University of Sydney “Exploring Greek Myth is an ingenious and learned approach to a topic that is all too often treated superficially and GReeK even condescendingly. Matthew Clark shows the depth of thought that myth requires of its interpreters, and his book truly speaks for itself in its eloquence and insight.” Gregory Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University G MYTH Exploring Greek Myth offers a unique and extensive discussion of variant forms of myths and many lesser-known stories, including important R local myths, known mostly in a particular city, and local versions of the ee Panhellenic myths; both crucially reflect the rituals, social practices, and mythic landscape of the world in which they were told. The book presents research that has accumulated over the past decades in a way that is accessible for those who are not yet scholars in the field. In doing K MYTH so, it fills in the gap between introductory texts about Greek myth and scholarly works on the subject. Clark begins with a provisional definition of myth, and then moves on to consider a range of topics, which include the sources of our knowledge of Greek myth, myth and ritual in ancient Greek society, comparative myth, myth and gender, hero cult, psychological interpretation of myth, and myth and philosophy. By drawing on the work and analytical methods of many leading scholars in the field, the book helps students appreciate the variety of the study of myth in one volume. MATTHEW CLARK is Associate Professor of Ancient Greek Literature and CLARK Culture in the Department of Humanities at York University in Toronto. His MATTHEW previous publications include Out of Line: Homeric Composition Beyond the Hexameter (1997), A Matter of Style: Writing and Technique (2002), and Narrative Structures and the Language of the Self (2010). CLARK Jacket image: Amphora with representation of the myth of Bellerophon and Pegasus. ISBN 978-1-4051-9455-6 © Photo Scala, Florence. Background image © iStockphoto / Schus 90000 Jacket design by Simon Levy Associates 9 781405 194556 Clark PB aw.indd 1 12/1/12 09:38:38 EXPLORING GREEK MYTH This book is dedicated to the memory of my sister, Miranda Smith EXPLORING GREEK MYTH MATTHEW CLARK This edition first published 2012 Ó 2012 Matthew Clark Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell. Registered Office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK Editorial Offices 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. The right of Matthew Clark to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Clark, Matthew, 1948- Exploring Greek myth / Matthew Clark. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-1-4051-9456-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-4051-9455-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Mythology, Greek. I. Title. BL783.C53 2012 292.1’3–dc23 2011038291 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is published in the following electronic formats: ePDFs 9781444362121; ePub 9781444362138; Mobi 9781444362145 Set in 10/13pt Minion by Thomson Digital, Noida, India 1 2012 Contents List of Illustrations vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii Chapter One: The Knife Did It 1 Definitions and Characteristics for the Study of Myth Chapter Two: Six Hundred Gods 15 Greek Myth and Greek Religion Chapter Three: Homer’s Beauty Pageant 30 The Traditions of Myth Chapter Four: Pelops’ Shoulder 43 Sources for the Study of Myth Chapter Five: Ikaros’ Wings, Aktaion’s Dogs 54 Myth and Meaning Chapter Six: The Bones of Orestes 68 Heroes in Myth and Society Chapter Seven: Born from the Earth 80 Founders of Cities and Families Chapter Eight: The Judgment of Paris 97 Comparative Myth Chapter Nine: Boys in Dresses, Brides with Beards 111 Myth and Gender Chapter Ten: Agamemnon’s Mask? 126 Myth and History Chapter Eleven: Orestes on Trial 140 Myth and Thought vi CONTENTS Chapter Twelve: Plato and the Poets 154 Philosophy and Myth Chapter Thirteen: Conclusion 168 Notes 171 References 179 Index 187 List of Illustrations Figure 1.1 Persephone rising out of the earth from the Underworld 8 Figure 1.2 Triptolemos in his winged chariot 10 Figure 2.1 Rhea deceives Kronos 20 Figure 3.1 The Francois¸ Vase 40 Figure 5.1 Aktaion and Artemis 59 Figure 7.1 Gaia hands Erichthonios to Athena 82 Figure 7.2 Kadmos and the serpent 91 Figure 10.1 The “Mask of Agamemnon” 136 Figure 11.1 Aigisthos prepares to kill Agamemnon 142 Figure 12.1 The abductions of Thetis and Oreithyia 162 Preface Introductory courses in ancient Greek myth are taught in many colleges and univer- sities throughout North America. In my own university, our full-year introductory course (“Myth and Imagination in Ancient Greece and Rome”) regularly attracts about 400 students. There are also many popular books about Greek myth for the general reading public. Clearly Greek myth retains its interest for a wide public, both inside schools and out. An introductory course, however, can only begin to suggest the richness and complexity of Greek myth. The introductory textbooks and popular accounts of myth quite rightly concentrate on telling the major myths, those that were widely known in ancient Greece and adapted in later Western art and literature, such as the myths of Demeter, Persephone and Hades; Oedipus; Jason and Medea; the Trojan War; and so on. But there are many other Greek myths, not so well known, that deserve study, both because they are great stories in themselves and also because they have something to tell us about the culture of the ancient Greeks. The textbooks and general introductions also present some discussion of cultural context and theoretical approaches to myth, but again there is much more to be said, both about the way these myths fit into the social practices of their times and also the way they were used as tools for thinking about important ideas, such as fate, justice, or the nature of divinity. This book, then, is intended for students (and those in the general reading public) who have some background in Greek myth but want to know more. There is a huge body of scholarship on the topic, but much of this scholarly discussion is not easy for students, especially for those who don’t read Greek or Latin. This book tries to bridge the gap between the introductory books and the scholarly studies, to present some of the research that has accumulated over the past decades in a way that is accessible for those who are not yet scholars in the field. The primary goal of this book is to ask why the ancient Greeks told themselves the stories that we call the Greek myths. (They told themselves other kinds of stories, stories that can’t be considered myths, but it is impossible in a book this size to take these into account as well.) In order to grapple with this question a reasonable knowledge of the variety of mythic stories is necessary. The Panhellenic myths – the myths that were told over all or most of the ancient Greek world – are a good start, but a number of local myths will have to be examined as well. These may give a rather different and broader sense of the place and function of myths in ancient Greek society. x PREFACE Myths can be studied in many different ways. Some scholars have argued that myths give explanations for the creation and nature of the physical world, including the weather and features of the landscape. Other scholars believe that myths provide charters for social structures and practices, such as the division of people into nations or tribes, or the rules of sacrifice.