Classics Commons^™

Prometheus The Trickster: Prophecy, Power, And Deception, Chris Griglack

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

This article interprets Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound through the lens of trickster mythology, arguing that Prometheus functions as an atypical trickster deity whose primary tool is not deception of appearance but foreknowledge of fate. Rather than opposing Zeus through force, Prometheus manipulates divine power by controlling access to prophecy, transforming knowledge itself into a means of resistance. His gift of fire to humanity and his refusal to disclose the prophecy of Zeus’s downfall are shown to be parts of a single strategy: the calculated use of foreknowledge to constrain a tyrannical ruler. In this reading, prophecy operates less as an immutable …

A Crown In Death: An (Expanded) Dramaturgical Approach To The Trojan Women Of Euripides, Stephanie Lester

Montview Journal of Research & Scholarship

In the action-packed, visually-oriented market for modern media, some may assume a 2,400-year-old Greek tragedy to be slightly past its expiration date, especially if it features little to no action onstage like in Euripides’ The Trojan Women. However, it is important to remember that literature is lost when the world fails to cherish it, so if a text survives that long, it may be worth another cursory glance. In this case, that glance involved a full dramaturgical study featuring qualitative script analysis of multiple translations of The Trojan Women with related texts to explore context, themes, common literary devices, and …

Bias And The Writing Process In Adaptations And Retellings Of Mythology, Haley Sanderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

My thesis is an examination of how adaptations and retellings of mythology are written and affected by readership and reception of mythology. I compare American Gods by Neil Gaiman and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood and how they are written as adaptations and retellings of mythology. As seen in both novels, the presence of the mythological source material in adaptations and retellings of mythology is equally influenced by authors’ perception and the influence of readership. Approaching the ideological positions of Atwood and Gaiman through the similarities and differences of The Penelopiad and American Gods provides a deeper insight on the …

Myth Rewrites: Do We Need A Reboot?, Livia M. Nocito

Interdivisional Studies Honors Papers

As myth rewrites have permeated popular culture in recent years, the alterations made to their narratives have shifted the original meanings of the ancient texts. They have sought to provide a modernized retelling for readers of a new age to enjoy while simultaneously attempting to hold a mirror to a society that has remained patriarchal and redeems the narrative. By analyzing the three iterations of Medusa’s origins, as well as The Odyssey and it’s newest musical adaptation, “EPIC: The Musical,” myth rewrites are proven to not only be beneficial to introducing new audiences to ancient mythology, but also finds its …

Mythic Arcana - A Tarot And Mythology Guidebook, Kiya Whitaker

English Student Scholarship

Mythic Arcana is part of my senior thesis show and the culmination of my writing and design journey at the college. It is a creative spin on the Major Arcana tarot deck and features mythological characters from around the world. Tarot is used for spiritual guidance, and the Major Arcana cards represent the Soul’s journey from naivety and vast potential (starting with 0, the Fool) to success and fulfillment (ending with 21, the World).

Enjoy this celebration of our world's rich and diverse cultures. Immerse yourself in enchanting art and storytelling. Allow this work to bring you to the past, …

Both Human And Holy: A Veneration Of Personhood Through Mythic Means, Abigail Porter

MFA in Visual Arts Theses

Mythology acts as a reflection of humanity, a connection of personhood and storytelling that spans through history. This essay covers how the ideas of myth, personhood, archetype, and portraiture remain central to my work. The nature of mythology is innately human in all aspects, centering on ideas being both fictitious and truthful - which allows the ideas of the dualistic aspects between the personhood and mythos with the figures worked with. My work is about people; I elevate the figure into mythic while using those myths to discuss the aspects of identity. My work leans heavily upon my own fixation …

Feminist Retellings Of Homer's The Odyssey, 2005-2022, Brenna R. Bretzinger

Honors Capstones

Over the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of feminist retellings of Greek mythology. These retellings serve to give voice to the marginalized female characters from ancient stories whose characterizations were deprioritized over their male counterparts. Furthermore, these stories connect the plights of ancient women with modern feminists to champion issues that women continue facing today. This study focuses on retellings of Homer’s The Odyssey, but these ideas and arguments are still largely applicable to other retellings of Greek mythology. Along with discussing The Odyssey, this project also analyzes three feminist retellings: …

Justice For All: Moira, Tyche And Nemesis In The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jason Osborne

Journal of Religion & Film

This article explores the ways in which the ancient concepts of moira, tyche, and nemesis permeate the films and series of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Feminist Retellings Of Homer's The Odyssey, 2005-2022, Brenna R. Bretzinger

CURE Proceedings

Over the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of feminist retellings of Greek mythology. These retellings serve to give voice to the marginalized female characters from ancient stories whose characterizations were deprioritized over their male counterparts. Furthermore, these stories connect the plights of ancient women with modern feminists to champion issues that women continue facing today. This study focuses on retellings of Homer’s The Odyssey, but these ideas and arguments are still largely applicable to other retellings of Greek mythology. Along with discussing The Odyssey, this project also analyzes three feminist retellings: …

A Society Impaired: Why Students Must Be Taught Mythology, Elise Hayen

Emerging Writers

This piece investigates why mythology taught in schools is not being retained by most students and therefore causing a major deficit of understanding in society. The author analyzes why mythology is still relevant and how it has impacted our world by shaping our language, our brain, and our perception of the world. Different educational methods are introduced to demonstrate how mythology education can be advanced in all levels of schooling. Lastly, the author shares stories from teachers and students that have successfully integrated impactful mythology into their curriculum and in order to see how this impacted their communities.

Strange Creature, Dagny Walton

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Strange Creature is an exploration and renovation of the myth of the American West. I extract elements from the known and recognizable myth of the West and create my own rendition, focusing in particular on themes of transformation and violence. Here in this black mirror world, animals speak out loud, cowboys face down a wildland with eyes, and two suns light up the lonely sky. There is no continuous narrative thread, but each piece is a vignette that takes place in a single shared world. This world is at once familiar and completely alien. I intend to surprise the viewer …

The Daily Life Of Penelope, Zachary Tympanick

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

Lifting Off Into Apollo’S Universe: An Exploration Into Nasa’S Reception Of Apollo, Audrey Mcgrail

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

Ode To Athene, Carl Quist

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

Parnassus: Classical Journal (Volume 9, 2022), Parnassus Contributors

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

Metamorphosing Metamorphosis In The Metamorphoses, Zachary Tympanick

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

The Underworld's Influence On Vergil's Male Protagonists, Aeneas And Orpheus, Stacey Kaliabakos

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

A Pair Of Horatian Odes Translated Into English Verse, Carl Quist

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

Parnassus: Classical Journal (Volume 8, 2021), Parnassus Contributors

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

Eating People Is Might: Power And The Representation Of Anthropophagy In Antiquity, Christopher Weimer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For several decades, scholars have read cannibalism in ancient texts as an ethnographic and rhetorical strategy to marginalize, minimize, demonize, or otherwise denigrate ‘the Other.’ It is seen as a characteristic of the wild, the savage, the uncivilized, and the bestial, something one attributes only to other people. This project challenges that assertion. In situating the many varied references to eating people in ancient Greek, Near Eastern, and Roman literature within their historical and generic contexts, I provide an alternative reading of the purpose of these accusations and stories. I argue that consumption of another is a statement of power, …

Hecabe: The Dog-Queen In Contemporary And Ancient Mythmaking, Makayla Steede

Honors Theses

This thesis will examine the character of Hecabe from Greek mythology as she is depicted in both ancient and contemporary sources. The sources feature both literary and scholarly work relating to Hecabe and Greek mythology. The primary source texts are The Iliad by Homer, Hecabe by Euripides, Trojan Women by Euripides, A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, and The Women of Troy by Pat Barker. The goal of the thesis is to examine the roles Hecabe plays in each book and examine the similarities and differences in how her story is told across the various texts.

Searching For Hades In Archaic Greek Literature, Daniel Stoll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No single volume of mythological or philological research exists for Hades. In the one moment Hades appears in archaic Greek literature, speaking for only ten lines, Hermes stands nearby. Thus, to understand and journey to Hades is to reckon with Hermes’ close presence. As I synthesize research by writers from several different disciplines, may some light be brought into the depths. May we analyze Hades’ brief appearance in archaic Greek literature, examining how what I define as the “Hermetic” emits from his breath in the one moment he physically appears and speaks.

New Myths And My Religion, Pallas Lane Umbra

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

New Myths and My Religion
Pallas Lane Umbra
Faculty Advisor: Katie Mitchell

As every civilization has had its myth and legends, this creative thesis project introduces a new mythology. This world is born of our own, shaped by the experience of growing up queer in the Appalachian South. There is a specific exploration of love, rage, and spirituality. Inspired by Greco-Roman mythology while also reflecting on personal experience, this body of work shares a visual, symbolic language that is interpretable; one myth can tell many stories. Along with this new iconography, the work strips the viewer of ease and comfort …

"The Greek Gods Don't Exactly Show Up For Their Kids' Basketball Games": Adapting Epic Convention Through Family Dramas In Rick Riordan's The Last Olympian, Hannah Mcginnis

Capstone Showcase

Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians saga bridges the gap between ancient myth and modern coming-of-age. In this article, the assertion that The Last Olympian is essentially an epic for the new generation invites an examination of the Homeric-heroic tropes and characteristics which are attributed to Riordan's characters. This analysis explains that through the combined motifs of time, age, and family, Riordan actively adapts and subverts these Classical conventions into a modern mythography for young readers.

Landscape And Lore: River Acheron And The Oracle Of The Dead, Lashante St. Fleur

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In order to explore the cultural relationships between people, landscape, memory and ritual, this master’s thesis focuses on the Acheron River in Epirus, Greece, long believed to harbor an entrance into Hades, the Greek underworld. Various entrances into the chthonic, or subterranean land of the dead, are peppered throughout Greece, with each tied to their own local myths, legends, folklore and cults. According to those traditions, Hades could be accessed from several terrestrial rivers thought to be connected to Oceanus, the primordial world-encompassing river surrounding all of creation. Flowing forth from River Ocean were all above- and underground rivers and …

Maternal Love Shown Through Punishment, Megan Donaty

Parnassus: Classical Journal

No abstract provided.

Argo Navis: A Drifting Circumambulation, Kyle D. Lemstrom

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This work is a tongue-in-cheek narrative journey through the creative process, using travel and mythology as vehicles for reflection, metacognition, and critical thinking around philosophy, literature, and contemporary art. As a process-oriented piece, it makes use of intentional constraints to force a kind of unfolding, to mimic the act of intellectual discovery, navigating dissonance and doubt. As a creative product, it is something akin to an afterimage, to persist as a vestige of accumulated learning. The piece wrestles with questions of personal agency, authority, knowledge and meaning, yet does not arrive at definitive answers.

Exploring Mythology Through Writing, Jayce Rubel

Honors Projects

The following work is a creative adaptation of a series of Greek myths found in Ovid's Metamorphoses. In the project I attempt to replicate the virtual idea of the original author in a retelling of each story. I also make use of stylistic elements known in the epic tradition as well as major themes found commonly found in these myths.

Is It So Bad To Be Yourself?, Andrew S. Russell

Graduate Theses

Homosexuality has been a topic of recent controversial religious discourse, not only in America, but also world-wide. This begs the question: when did homosexuality become such a divisive issue in religious circles? The purpose of this thesis is to examine how ancient western cultures perceived homosexuality and treated homosexuals. Starting with the pagan civilizations of Greece and Rome, and then looking at how homosexuality was perceived in the ancient Judaic world and into the early Christian community, it seems that homosexuality only gradually became stigmatized as early Christians sought to distinguish themselves as unique in the ancient world.

Mythic Background, Erwin F. Cook

Classical Studies Faculty Research

Myth, according to a well known formulation by Walter Burkert, “is a traditional tale with secondary, partial reference to something of collective importance” (1979: 23). Andrew von Hendy, who declares Burkert’s definition the “gold standard” in classical studies, offers a Marxist reformulation, so that myth “is traditional narrative with a high degree of ideological saturation” (2002: 269, 277). This definition accords with the fact that muthos, the Greek word that most closely approximates myth, also designates “story” generally, and, as we might expect in an oral culture, “speech” (its meaning of “fiction” is post-Homeric). It also allows …