Morrison, A. D. (2021) Myth and narrative in Theocritus. In: Kyriakou, P., Sistakou, E. and Rengakos, A. (eds.) Brill's Companion to Theocritus. Series: Brill's companions to classical studies. Brill: Leiden ; Boston, pp. 431-453. ISBN 9789004373556 (doi: 10.1163/9789004466715_019)
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Abstract
This chapter examines the different types of mythic narrative and their many various uses in Theocritus. Heroic myth can be employed as a paradigm for human experience but can also underline the differences between the heroic age and the worlds of Theocritus’ herdsmen and the Hellenistic audience of the poems. In some poems the heroic world is domesticated and familiarised, in others new perspectives on famous figures or episodes are adopted. Bucolic myth (esp. the figure of Daphnis) plays a number of roles in different poems, including helping to create a sense of self-contained fictional worlds. Bucolic myth is nevertheless characterised by uncertainty and indeterminacy, which frustrates attempts to employ such myths as paradigms for human experience. Theocritus’ use of mythic narrative is characterised by variety but also by consummate skill.
| Item Type: | Book Sections |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Morrison, Professor Andrew |
| Authors: | Morrison, A. D. |
| College/School: | College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Classics |
| Publisher: | Brill |
| ISBN: | 9789004373556 |
| Published Online: | 16 August 2021 |
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