Myth and Society in Ancient Greece [Hardcover]

Jean-Pierre Vernant (Author), Janet Lloyd (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 16, 1988

In this groundbreaking study, Jean Pierre-Vernant delineates a compelling new vision of ancient Greece. Myth and Society in Ancient Greece takes us far from the calm and familiar images of Polykleitos and the Parthenon to reveal a fundamentally other culture one of slavery, of masks and death, of scapegoats, of ritual hunting and ecstasies.Vernant's provocative discussion of various institutions and practices including war, marriage, and sacrifice details the complex intersection of the religious, social, and political structures of ancient Greece. The book concludes with Vernant's authoritative genealogy of the study of myth from antiquity to structuralism and beyond.Jean Pierre-Vernant is Professor Emeritus of Comparative Study of Ancient Religions at the Collège de France in Paris. Janet Lloyd is a translator and writer living in England. Distributed for Zone Books.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This scholarly collection of studies follows Vernant's Myth and Thought and Myth and Tragedy, offering further insights into Greek social structure, concepts of slave production and economic growth, and the efforts of myths to define and shape social choices. This is no casual opinion piece: Vernant refers to research from ancient texts, forms concepts of Marxist class struggles, city-state interactions and social reforms from the twin influences of myth and history, and examines the structure of Greek religion and myths as it pertained to historic events... a fascinating, penetrating study." Diane C. Donovan , The Midwest Book Review

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Zone; 2nd edition (November 16, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0942299167
• ISBN-13: 978-0942299168
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,268,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Myth and society intertwined, September 28, 2005

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FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Myth and Society in Ancient Greece (Paperback)

This book is the third volume of Jean-Pierre Vernant's work on myth and its connections beyond. The first two, 'Myth and Thought' and 'Myth and Tragedy', develop ideas of linguistic expression, art, tradition and more in ancient Greece. As Vernant states in the introduction, the term 'and' is a polyvalent term in English (and perhaps more so in French) - it 'can carry more than one meaning and may infer not simply juxtaposition but also association or contrast.'

One of the key issues here is the coupling, to what extent is myth present in society, and to what extent is society present in myth? So much of what the modern world knows about Greek culture, particularly the earliest culture, is its mythological worldview and constructs, which have endured better than buildings, languages, political structures and military might. Vernant brings modern theories to bear on the development of Greece as a culture - the first essay looks at issues of class identity and class struggle, with particular attention to the concept of slave-based modes of production and service.

The essay on city-state warfare is an important one; one of the enduring elements of ancient Greece is the legacy of the Peloponnesian war, with relationships that have direct parallels in the modern world. Another kind of relation, marriage, is also examined here in detail with regard to myth structures - to what extent is marriage and idealised state, and how is it practiced in reality? Vernant also looks at the pantheon of the gods as a society unto themselves, and a reflection (however fractured) of the way things are in human society. What does it say that the myths are structured the way they are? How can this set of stories and beings actually be considered a religion? Vernant discusses the ideas of Louis Moulinier in this regard.

Myth changed over time in the Greek culture toward a more full development of history and philosophy. Thucydides is held up as one of the earliest to move away from myth in his exposition of events, resisting heavy-handed application of gods and supernatural forces to the events of the world. In addition to tracing the different ways in which myth is addressed in ancient Greek history, philosophy and literature, Vernant also looks at the development of modern thinking about this topic, including comparative mythology, anthropological/social evolutionary views of mythology, historical philology, and 'postmodern' ideas a la Levi-Strauss and Ricoeur.

For such a scholarly text, it is short on scholarly features - there is no bibliography, no index, and a relatively small amount of endnotes. The text is not easy text to read; this is something for scholars. It is worthwhile in terms of ideas for those interested in the subject.

4 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars deep theories to wade through, May 15, 2000

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TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Myth and Society in Ancient Greece (Paperback)

Another welcomed translation of the French scholar, Jean-Pierre Vernant. Building on his previous book "Origens of Greek Thought", Vernant expands to look at Greek society more fully. Overall there is a lack of primary evidence and refernces however that weaken his intriguing suggestions. Not for the non-specialist.