Myth and Thought among the Greeks [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2006

When Jean-Pierre Vernant first published Myth and Thought among the Greeks in 1965, it transformed the field of ancient Greek scholarship, calling forth a new way to think about Greek myth and thought. In eighteen essays--three of which, along with a new preface, are translated into English for the first time--Vernant freed the subject of ancient Greece from its philological chains and reread the questions of "muthos" and "logos" within multifaced and transdisciplinary contexts--of religion, ritual, and art, philosophy, science, social and economic institutions, and historical psychology. A major contribution to both the humanities and the social sciences, Myth and Thought among the Greeks aims to come to terms with a single, essential question: How were individual persons in ancient Greece inseparable from a social and cultural environment of which they were simultaneously the creators and products? Seven themes organize this stellar work--from "Myth Structures" and "Mythic Aspects of Memory and Time" to "The Organization of Space," "Work and Technological Thought," and "Personal Identity and Religion." A master storyteller, an innovative, precise, and original thinker, Vernant continues to change the narratives we tell about the histories of civilizations and the histories of human beings in their individual and collective identities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A classic since it first appeared in 1965, this book has lost nothing of its originality and brio. A collection of essays whose themes are seemingly disparate... Myth and Thought among the Greeks owes its unity to Vernant's innovative methodology.... This book remains today a passionate and profound inquiry of the Greeks, both distant from and near to us in the evolution of their structures and mental activities." L'Ecrivain

Language Notes

Text: English, French (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 505 pages
• Publisher: Zone (May 12, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890951609
• ISBN-13: 978-1890951603
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #310,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking!, February 27, 2010

By 

Matthew Crosby - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Myth and Thought among the Greeks (Paperback)

I'm so glad I came across this book in my university library. I was trying to answer the question, How did Greek philosophy originate within a world of irrationality--mythology, Eastern religions controlled by the aristocracy, etc.? This book answered the question and gave me much more to think about. The seemingly miraculous origin of rationality did not emerge in a vacuum; it was dependent upon and yet also at difference with past paradigms like mythology and current explorations in geometry, politics, society, economics, etc. I read chapter 18 and basically underlined and made notes on every page! I want to go back and read all the other chapters sometime, because Vernant explains things so clearly, intelligently, and influentially. If you are at all interested in understanding how the first rational thinking developed, why it happened, and what this says about the Greek culture and human beings universally, read this book sometime.