Agenorid Myth in the ›Bibliotheca‹ of Pseudo-Apollodorus

A Philological Commentary of Bibl. III.1-56 and a Study into the Composition and Organization of the Handbook

von Johanna Astrid Michels

897 Seiten, Hardcover

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

The
Bibliotheca
of Pseudo-Apollodorus, perhaps the best-known mythographic text, stands out for its comprehensive aim and state of preservation. The handbook has regularly been disregarded as a repository of 'standard' myths or as a primary witness to archaic stories, a reductive view at once underestimating and romanticizing the merits of the
Bibliotheca
. This monograph unlocks the
Bibliotheca
as a literary work in its own right by offering the first systematic commentary on an essential selection, the Cretan and Theban myths in Bibl. III.1-56, and by presenting an in-depth analysis of the text. In so doing, this volume closes a gap in current research, from which a philological commentary is entirely missing. The main part of the study focuses on various aspects of composition and organization by addressing structuring principles, narratorial interventions, and the author's method and sources. It lays to rest persistent misconceptions about the representative character of the
Bibliotheca'
s myths, the author's merits, and his source use, all of which have divided the scholarship to this date. In addition, it provides an update on the author, date, purpose and readership, text history, and book division of the
Bibliotheca
.

• Reihe: Beiträge zur Altertumskunde
• ISBN: 9783110602791
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 21.11.2022
• Genre: Geschichte/Altertum
• Verlag: De Gruyter