Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I
- 1 Plot
- 2 Time
- 3 Narrative and speech
- 4 Focalisation
- 5 Effects on the reader
- 6 Gaps and omissions
- 7 Poetic licence
- 8 Authentication
- 9 Style
- 10 Allusions, hints, hidden meanings
- 11 Characters
- 12 Mythography
- PART II
- Epilogue
- Glossary of Greek terms
- Editions of scholia
- Other abbreviations
- Bibliography
- Thematic index
- Index locorum
12 - Mythography
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I
- 1 Plot
- 2 Time
- 3 Narrative and speech
- 4 Focalisation
- 5 Effects on the reader
- 6 Gaps and omissions
- 7 Poetic licence
- 8 Authentication
- 9 Style
- 10 Allusions, hints, hidden meanings
- 11 Characters
- 12 Mythography
- PART II
- Epilogue
- Glossary of Greek terms
- Editions of scholia
- Other abbreviations
- Bibliography
- Thematic index
- Index locorum
Summary
The scholia that form the basis of this book comment on literary texts that normally have a plot with a mythological subject-matter. Consequently, the relevant scholia also deal with questions of myth. In fact, these scholia are so numerous and often long (see in particular the mythographical D-scholia to the Iliad and the scholia to Apollonius of Rhodes and Lycophron) that a systematic discussion would go beyond the scope of this book. Instead the following account will try to give a general idea of the major questions which ancient commentators address when dealing with mythological issues.
The most basic (and probably most common) type of comment simply states the ‘facts’ of the relevant myth. Though typologically similar, the notes in this group cover a wide range and vary considerably in scope. The scale ranges from concise notes such as ‘X is the son of Y’ to extensive retelling of entire myths. Despite the difference in size and scope, they have a similar function in that they primarily intend to provide the reader with background information that is deemed necessary to understand the text under discussion (cf. page 16). (On occasion, however, the scholion seems to contain more information than is immediately necessary. The commentator appears to take the opportunity to put his knowledge on display or to provide a ‘mythological handbook’.) Notes which primarily state the ‘facts’ of the myth may or may not mention an authority on which their evidence is based.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Ancient Critic at WorkTerms and Concepts of Literary Criticism in Greek Scholia, pp. 257 - 264Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009