Fairy Tale in the Ancient World (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "In the course of a vulgar dinner party in a Roman novel, the nouveau riche host looks back on his career and announces that 'the..." (more)
Key Phrases: slipper test, compassionate executioner, modern fairytale, Red Riding Hood, Dede Korkut, Near Eastern (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is an enchanting book in all senses of the word .. it is a real and unusual treat for the enquiring mind.' - JACT Review

'This intrepid reader of obscure Classical texts and explorer in the wider world of oral tales from lands far away and times long ago ... has brought us back a provocative study.'- Scholia: Studies in Classical Antiquity

 

This is an enchanting book in all senses of the word .. it is a real and unusual treat for the enquiring mind. - JACT Review

This intrepid reader of obscure Classical texts and explorer in the wider world of oral tales from lands far away and times long ago ... has brought us back a provocative study.- Scholia: Studies in Classical Antiquity

Product Description

"Highly significant and thought-provoking....This work will open up a new perspective on the development of the fairy tales in the western world." |o Jack Zipes, University of Minnesota

Graham Anderson examines texts from the classical period which resemble "our" Cinderellas, Snow Whites, Red Riding Hoods, Bluebeards and others, and argues that many familiar fairy tales were already well-known in antiquity in some form. Examples include a Jewish-Egyptian Cinderella, complete with ashes, whose prince is the biblical Joseph; a Snow White whose enemy is the goddess Artemis; and Pied Piper at Troy, with King Priam in the role of the little boy who got away. He breaks new ground by putting forward many previously unsuspected candidates as classical variants of the modern fairytale, and argues that the degree of cruelty and violence exhibited in many ancient examples mean such stories must have often been meant for adults.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (October 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415237025
• ISBN-13: 978-0415237024
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,696,980 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Connecting Fairy Tales with the Classics, December 3, 2003

By	Heidi Anne Heiner (SurLaLune Fairy Tales.com) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Fairy Tale in the Ancient World (Paperback)

Having had this book in my personal collection for a few years now, I cannot praise it highly enough. As any folklorist knows, similar story threads exist across cultures and time. Why does this happen? One influence may have been the classic mythology from the Greeks and Romans. Graham Anderson makes reasonable connections between classical literature and our more modern folklore in previously unexplored ways. His writing is concise with easy-to-follow descriptions and analysis. If you are interested in the history of story, folklore, or the classics, this book is an excellent and relatively quick read. I only wish I had owned this book in the days when I was studying the classics as an undergraduate. It would have made reading the classics even more interesting than it was then.