Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual (Sather Classical Lectures)
Edition: New Ed edition
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: November 8, 1982
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 248
ISBN-13: 9780520047709
Subjects: Ancient Greek religion; Ancient Roman religion; Mythology, Greek; Greco-Roman Mythology; Sociology; Mythology, Classical; Rites and ceremonies; Ancient - Greece; Folklore & Mythology - Mythology; History / Ancient / General; Greece; Greeks
First sentence: To modern man, the word 'myth,' while retaining a certain fascination even outside classical circles, has quite an ambivalent appeal: to denounce some opinion or attitude as 'myth' means to reject it as irrational, false, and potentially harmful; at the same time, 'myth' has a nostalgic ring, indicative of some meaningful reality hidden or lost in the depths of the past or of the psyche, which might be resuscitated as an antidote to a present that seems both rational and absurd.