How Philosophers Saved Myths

Luc Brisson, Catherine Tihanyi (Translator)

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Author
Luc Brisson, Catherine Tihanyi (Translator)
Publish Date
2008-06-01
Subtitle
Allegorical Interpretation and Classical Mythology
Book Type
Paperback
Number of Pages
221
Publisher Name
University of Chicago Press
ISBN-10
0226075370
ISBN-13
9780226075372
citemno
270762
SKU
9780226075372

Description

In this concise but wide-ranging study, Luc Brisson describes how the myths of Greece and Rome were transmitted from antiquity to the Renaissance. He argues that philosophy was responsible for saving myth from historical annihilation. Although philosophy was initially critical of myth, mythology was progressively reincorporated into philosophy through allegory. Brisson reveals how philosophers employed allegory and how it enabled myth to take on a number of different interpretive systems throughout the centuries: moral, physical, psychological, political, and even metaphysical.
“This wonderful book confirms Brisson’s status as one of the major authorities in the field of classical antiquity. Overall, and with this excellent translation, the book is invaluable.”—Choice
“A compressed overview with moments of great insight. . . . Its strengths lie in the details Brisson is able to work into this brief treatment.”—Peter Struck, Journal of Religion