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Summary
Summary
From Cinderella to The Boy Who Cried Wolf to The Dragon Slayer to the Judgment of Solomon, certain legends, myths, and folktales are part of the oral tradition in countries around the world. In addition to their pervasiveness, these stories show an astonishing longevity; many such tales are found in classical antiquity.
Ariadne's Thread is an encyclopedia of more than a hundred such international oral tales, all present in the literature of ancient Greece and Rome. It takes into account writings, including early Jewish and Christian literature, recorded in or translated into Greek or Latin by writers of any nationality. As a result, it will be invaluable not only to classicists and folklorists but also to a wide range of other readers who are interested in stories and storytelling.
William Hansen presents the familiar form of each tale and discusses the similar ancient story or stories, examining how each corresponds with and differs from that form. He then gives principal sources and, where appropriate, comments on the cultural factors affecting the shape and content of the ancient story, the context of transmission, and issues raised in the secondary literature. Finally, he provides a bibliography of scholarly studies and the pertinent reference in the standard folk-narrative index, The Types of the Folktale by Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson.
Again and again, Hansen demonstrates how ancient narratives are often best understood in the context of the larger tradition. He forces us to rethink the nature of Greek mythology by encouraging an appreciation of the extent to which Greek myths and legends parallel international stories. By virtue of their durability, he says, these orally transmitted stories rank among the world's most successful artistic creations.
Reviews (2)
Choice Review
Hansen (Indiana Univ.) has written a useful survey demonstrating how both popular and learned tradition in the classical world drew on the narrative riches of Indo-European and Near Eastern oral tradition. A clear introduction discusses folktales in classical antiquity and the comparative study of folktales. There follow nearly a hundred concise essays arranged alphabetically under generic titles taken from the Aarne-Thompson Types of the Folktale. These essays summarize the traditional plot of particular international folktales, then discuss related stories found in or referred to by Latin or Greek sources, including early Jewish and Christian authors. Graham Anderson's Fairytale in the Ancient World (2000), addressed to British classicists, covers only ten basic stories. Though his essays range farther afield than Hansen's--touching Near Eastern myth, Rabinnic sources, and even Sanskrit--Hansen's focused coverage is more exhaustive. The complete table of contents, series of indexes including tale-type index, and broad bibliography make the material extraordinarily accessible, whether one wants to hunt down classical Cinderellas or check on how much Herodotus or Cicero drew on traditional narrative. The work of a lifetime of reading and annotating, this book is a browser's dream. Recommended for all libraries. W. B. McCarthy Pennsylvania State University, DuBois Campus
Library Journal Review
Hansen traces the origins of more than 100 folktales to their roots in the literature of antiquity. He includes not only stories that have survived in the ancient languages but also early Jewish and Christian tales that were either recorded in or translated into Greek or Latin. While Hansen admits that the work is "representative rather than exhaustive," his treatment of each entry is nonetheless thorough. Entries are arranged alphabetically by the keywords established in Antti Aarne's The Types of Folktales: A Classification and Bibliography, translated by Stith Thompson, and Hansen recounts the plot of each tale, comparing and contrasting it with the corresponding ancient stories. This is followed by a list of principal sources and, often, comments on factors of culture and transmission that may have affected changes in the story. Hansen refers to Aarne-Thompson folk motifs and sometimes discusses issues raised in secondary sources. A valuable source for classicists and students of folklore. Recommended for academic libraries. Kathy Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
Foreword | p. ix |
Preface | p. xi |
Abbreviations | p. xiii |
Introduction | p. 1 |
The Comparative Study of the Folktale | p. 1 |
The Study of Greek and Roman Folk Narratives | p. 6 |
Oral Narratives and Oral Narration in Classical Antiquity | p. 12 |
The Present Work | p. 19 |
The Tales | |
Apprentice and Ghost Eukrates and the Automaton | p. 35 |
Asking the Large Fish Philoxenos the Poet | p. 38 |
Attentive Donkey | p. 40 |
Axe Falls into the Stream Hermes and the Woodcutter | p. 42 |
Battles of the Pygmies and the Cranes | p. 45 |
Best Friend, Worst Enemy Aesop and the Dog | p. 49 |
Boastful Deer Slayer Agamemnon | p. 54 |
Bride Won in a Tournament Pelops and Hippodameia | p. 56 |
Brother Chosen Rather Than Husband Intaphrenes' Wife | p. 62 |
Carrying Part of the Load Dionysos and Xanthias | p. 66 |
Carrying Water in a Sieve Danaides | p. 69 |
Catch-Tale Demades the Orator | p. 75 |
Children Play at Hog Killing Makareus the Priest | p. 79 |
Cinderella Rhodopis the Courtesan | p. 85 |
Cranes of Ibykos | p. 89 |
Dead Child's Friendly Return The Dead Ask the Living to Cease Grieving | p. 92 |
Death's Messengers | p. 95 |
Devil to Count Stars Counting Sand, Stars, Waves | p. 97 |
Disenchanted Husband Cupid and Psyche | p. 100 |
Dog on the Bridge Alexander and the Donkey Driver | p. 114 |
Dragging Old Man Only to Threshold | p. 117 |
Dragon Slayer Perseus | p. 119 |
Fairies Send a Message Death of Pan | p. 131 |
Foolish Fugitives | p. 136 |
Foolish Man Builds Aircastles Gripus | p. 138 |
Fortune in Salt Fortune in Water | p. 142 |
Frog King Roman Proverb | p. 145 |
Frozen Words | p. 146 |
Gifts of the Little People Pandaros and Echedoros | p. 147 |
Girl as Helper Jason and Medeia | p. 151 |
God and the Emperor of Rome Zeus and Tantalos | p. 167 |
Golden Ram Trojan Horse | p. 169 |
Great Animal or Object | p. 176 |
Groom Teaches His Horse to Live without Food | p. 187 |
Hatch-Penny Pases' Penny | p. 188 |
Hearing-Impaired Persons | p. 190 |
Holding Up the Rock Holding Up the Sky | p. 197 |
Homecoming Husband Odysseus | p. 201 |
Hospitality Rewarded Mercury and the Stingy Women | p. 211 |
House Burned Down to Rid It of Insects Shirt Burnt to Rid It of Lice | p. 223 |
Husband's One Good Eye Covered Husband's Attention Diverted | p. 225 |
Judgment of Solomon | p. 227 |
Keep Your Seats! Prince the Flutist | p. 233 |
Labor Contract Aesop and Xanthos | p. 234 |
Learn to Swim | p. 240 |
Loading the Wood Sorites | p. 241 |
Local Moon | p. 242 |
Lord's Prayer Sisyphos and Thanatos | p. 243 |
Magic Object and the Trolls Perseus | p. 246 |
Maiden's Honor Maiden's Sense | p. 251 |
Maids Must Rise Even Earlier | p. 255 |
Making a Rope of Sand | p. 256 |
Man Does Not Recognize His Own Reflection | p. 257 |
Man Swallowed by Fish Lucian | p. 261 |
Marrying a Man of Forty Returning a Donkey | p. 264 |
Matron of Ephesus | p. 266 |
Money in the Stick | p. 279 |
Mother Dies of Fright Secundus the Philosopher | p. 284 |
Nothing to Cook Nothing to Eat | p. 287 |
Ogre Blinded Odysseus and Polyphemos | p. 289 |
Ogre Kills His Own Children Aedon | p. 301 |
Ogre Steals the Thunder's Instruments Typhon and Zeus | p. 305 |
Old Man and Death | p. 314 |
Our Lady's Child Gyges and Kroisos | p. 316 |
Person Does Not Know Himself | p. 327 |
Peter Stung by Bees Man Bitten by Ants | p. 329 |
Planting for the Next Generation | p. 331 |
Potiphar's Wife Hippolytos and Phaidra | p. 332 |
Quest for a Vanished Princess Apollo of the Vultures | p. 352 |
Rhampsinitos | p. 357 |
Sailor and the Oar Odysseus | p. 371 |
Schlaraffenland Glutton's Paradise | p. 378 |
Service in Hell Philinnion and Machates | p. 392 |
Seven Sleepers Epimenides of Crete | p. 397 |
Shepherd Who Cried "Wolf!" | p. 402 |
Slaughter of the Ox | p. 404 |
Smith and the Devil Sisyphos and Thanatos | p. 405 |
Son of the King and of the Smith Kyros | p. 408 |
Sowing of Salt Odysseus | p. 414 |
Stronger and Strongest | p. 415 |
Sunlight Carried in a Bag Perdikkes | p. 424 |
Three Brothers Roman Proverb | p. 426 |
Three Joint Depositors Demosthenes | p. 427 |
Three Lazy Ones Lazy Debtor and Creditor | p. 429 |
Threefold Death The Hermaphrodite | p. 431 |
To Sacrifice a Giant Candle To Sacrifice a Hecatomb | p. 435 |
Topsy-Turvy Land Mundus Inversus | p. 439 |
Tree Trunks Laid Crosswise Beam Carried Crosswise | p. 445 |
Trespasser's Defense The Lokrians' Oath | p. 447 |
Twins or Blood Brothers Menaechmi | p. 450 |
Underground Passage to Paramour's House Miles Gloriosus | p. 453 |
Unfinished Tale "And Then I Woke Up" | p. 460 |
White Serpent's Flesh Melampous the Seer | p. 462 |
Wisdom of Hidden Old Man Saves Kingdom | p. 469 |
Wishing Contest | p. 475 |
Wooden Doll Homo | p. 478 |
Youth Who Bathed Himself in Blood Achilleus's Heel | p. 481 |
Bibliography | p. 491 |
Index of Ancient Sources | p. 533 |
Index of Tale Types and Motifs | p. 539 |
General Index | p. 543 |