Throughout the ancient world, origin stories were told across the ancient world in many different ways: through poetry, prose, monumental and decorative arts, and performance in civic and religious rituals. Foundation myths, particularly those about the beginnings of cities and societies, played an important role in the dynamics of identity construction and in the negotiation of diplomatic relationships between communities. Yet many ancient communities had not one but several foundation myths, offering alternative visions and interpretations of their collective origins.
Seeking to explain this plurality, Foundation Myths in Ancient Societies explores origin stories from a range of classical and ancient societies, covering both a broad chronological span (from Greek colonies to the high Roman empire) and a wide geographical area (from the central Mediterranean to central Asia). Contributors explore the reasons several different, sometimes contradictory myths might coexist or even coevolve. Collectively, the chapters suggest that the ambiguity and dissonance of multiple foundation myths can sometimes be more meaningful than a single coherent origin narrative. Foundation Myths in Ancient Societies argues for a both/and approach to foundation myths, laying a framework for understanding them in dialogue with each other and within a wider mythic context, as part of a wider discourse of origins.
Contributors : Lieve Donnellan, Alfred Hirt, Naoíse Mac Sweeney, Rachel Mairs, Irad Malkin, Daniel Ogden, Robin Osborne, Michael Squire, Susanne Turner.
Table of Content
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
—Naoíse Mac Sweeney
Chapter 1. Foreign Founders: Greeks and Hebrews
—Irad Malkin
Chapter 2. Oikist and Archegetes in Context: Representing the Foundation of Sicilian Naxos
—Lieve Donnellan
Chapter 3. Who’s the Daddy?: Contesting and Constructing Theseus’ Paternity in Fifth-Century Athens
—Susanne Turner
Chapter 4. The Founder’s Shrine and the Foundation of Ai Khanoum
—Rachel Mairs
Chapter 5. Alexander, Agathos Daimon, and Ptolemy: The Alexandrian Foundation Myth in Dialogue
—Daniel Ogden
Chapter 6. Figuring Rome’s Foundation on the Iliac Tablets
—Michael Squire
Chapter 7. Beyond Greece and Rome: Foundation Myths on Tyrian Coinage in the Third Century ad
—Alfred Hirt
Epilogue
—Robin Osborne
List of Contributors
Index
Acknowledgments
About the author
Naoise Mac Sweeney is Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Leicester and author of Foundation Myths and Politics in Ancient Ionia.
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