Monsters in the Ancient Greek World (el. knyga) (skaityta knyga) | knygos.lt

Aprašymas

From island-roaming monocular giants to sea-dwelling creatures, Greek myth is filled with all manner of bestial and monstrous creatures. But what do the myths tell us about these monsters? Were they malevolent monsters, or has the idea of their monstrosity simply risen from the human fear of the 'other'? In Monsters in the Ancient Greek World: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, you will travel across seas to distant lands, descend into the depths of the underworld, and walk the trepidatious paths of the remotest forests, and in doing so, you will encounter large, powerful, frightening but also benevolent isolated monsters. The study focuses on Polyphemus the Cyclops, female monsters, monsters targeted by Heracles during his labours, and humans who metamorphosed into beasts. Drawing upon Ancient Greek texts alongside more modern understanding of alterity, the many Ancient Greek monsters will be seen as largely misunderstood metaphors of human anxieties and fears, while their true origins lay in the heart of prehistory, when humans embraced their natural environment and found reverence in the wildness of their surroundings and the beasts that they painted upon their cave walls. By exploring mythology, history, and modern teratology, the Ancient Greek monsters will rise from the pages of this book as creatures that deserve to be fully embraced, rather than forced into isolation.