Bathtime mythology

I have discovered that supervising a toddler’s bathtime provides a useful 15-20 minute slot for some light reading. At present I’m using this to get more of a grip on Greek mythology, starting gently with J.-P. Vernant’s retelling of the major myths. This is really good, very simple but also capturing many of the interesting ‘points to think with’ about the myths. I’m not too keen on the translation though, which provides the perfect excuse to buy it in French as well. My French isn’t great, but I don’t think ‘Odysseus… never abandoned the memory of the return’ is a good translation of ‘Ulysse… n’a cessé de garder en mémoir le retour’, which carries more of a sense of ‘keep in mind’ in the English idiom. Anyway, nitpicking aside, it’s a good read.

Next step is The Uses of Greek Mythology, which provides a theoretical framework for thinking about what myth is and how it can be of use. I’m a big fan of this Routledge series Approaching the Ancient World, which provides straightforward but not simplistic guides to using different sorts of evidence. It’s more for historians, but one of the things I love about studying Classical literature is that you really need to know a bit about a lot of things.

Then there’s Art and Myth in Ancient Greece, which very helpfully brings together some of the visual evidence grouped around myths rather than date or medium; among other things, it’s interesting to see how representations change over time. And looking at pretty pictures is always soothing.

And then for a bracing contrast there’s Palaephatus, who, writing around the 4th century BC, conceived the ultimately doomed project of providing rational explanations for myths. A sample: ‘They say that Diomedes’ horses ate men. Ridiculous! Horse enjoy barley and oats rather than human flesh.’ Always refreshing to hear a voice of sound common sense.

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