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"Mythology Comparative studies."
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Creatures in the Mist
Varner brings together a medley of stories, myths, and folklore, sharing a fascination and respect for humankind's early and contemporary cultures and wondering at similarities across the board. Here, he focuses on \"Little People\" and giants, animals and were-creatures, and the odd, helpful or threatening ways imputed to our earthly companions including dogs and cats, bats and spiders, and the stories people have told each other about them since time immemorial.
eBook
When the gods were born : Greek cosmogonies and the Near East
\"Ancient Greece has for too long been studied in isolation from its Near Eastern neighbors. And the Ancient Near East itself has for too long been seen as an undifferentiated cultural monolith. Classics and Near Eastern studies, in our modern universities, continue to be separated by various disciplinary, linguistic, and ideological walls. Yet there is growing trend to dismantle these divides and look at the Greek world within its fullest geographical and cultural contexts. This book aims to bring the comparative study of Greek and Near Eastern cosmogonies to a new level. It analyzes themes such as succession myths, expressions of poetic inspiration, and claims to cosmic knowledge, as well as the role of itinerant specialists in the transmission of cosmogonies. Rather than compiling literary parallels from different periods and languages and treating the Near East as a monolithic matrix, the author focuses on the motifs specific to the Northwest Semitic tradition with which the Greeks had direct contact in the Archaic period. Focusing on Hesiod's Theogony, the Orphic texts, and their Ugaritic, Phoenician and Hebrew counterparts, Carolina López-Ruiz avoids traditional diffusionist assumptions and proposes instead that dynamic cultural interaction led to the oral and intimate transmission of stories and beliefs.\"-From jacket.
Book
A Funny Thing Happened on My Way to Sodom
As an illustration of the phenomena of \"filtered absorption\" or \"controlled incorporation\" of Greek and Roman culture into late classical Judaism, this article focuses on the depiction of Abraham's servant, identified as Eliezer, in a passage in b. Sanh 109b, which consists largely of confrontations-several of them of a decidedly humorous or satirical nature-with the perverse laws, judges, and citizens of biblical Sodom. The manner in which Eliezer's midrashic personality and role were fashioned by the rabbis evokes a familiar character from classical literature, namely the \"clever slave\" [servus callidus], a figure that was cultivated most famously by Plautus and which became a popular stock character in Roman theater. The article tries to reconstruct how the midrashic homilist adapted the Latin dramatic conventions for Jewish religious and exegetical purposes.Special attention is paid to the Talmud's incorporation of the well-known motif of the \"Procrustean bed\"; noting the methodological and textual obstacles that plague our attempts to identify exactly which versions of that legend were being used by the Talmudic authors.
Journal Article
The story of myth
Greek myths have long been admired as beautiful, thrilling stories but dismissed as serious objects of belief, even for the Greeks themselves. Indeed, for centuries scholars have argued that the stories that the Greeks handed down to us--the epics, the tragedies and the other compelling works that the Greeks left behind--obscure the 'real' myths that supposedly inspired them, and have striven to excavate their hidden meanings. The Story of Myth, however, argues that it was precisely their nature as stories--as gripping tales, starring vivid characters--that enabled myths to do their most important work: to create and sustain belief in the gods and heroes that populated them, thus forming the basis of Greek religion. By drawing on recent work in narratology, sociology and folklore studies and by comparing Greek myths to other narratives--not only the myths of other cultures such as the ancient Near East, but fairy tales, fantasy works, 19th century ghost stories, modern novels, and television series, as well--author Sarah Iles Johnston reveals the subtle yet powerful ways in which the myths forged enduring bonds between their characters and their audience members, created coherent story-worlds, and made it possible to believe in extraordinary gods.-- Provided by publisher
Book
Plots of epiphany : prison-escape in acts of the Apostles
The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZNW) is one of the oldest and most highly regarded international scholarly book series in the field of New Testament studies. Since 1923 it has been a forum for seminal works focusing on Early Christianity and related fields. The series is grounded in a historical-critical approach and also explores new methodological approaches that advance our understanding of the New Testament and its world.
eBook
Accusers Lie and Other Myths: Rape Myth Acceptance Predicts Judgments Made About Accusers and Accused Perpetrators in a Rape Case
Previous research results have yielded a consistent link between rape myth acceptance and sexual assault victim blaming: Individuals reporting higher levels of rape myth acceptance also report higher levels of victim blaming. In four studies we explored whether the presentation of rape-myth confirming information or rape-myth debunking information might moderate these tendencies. In these studies, U.S. undergraduates (97 in Study 1, 84 in Study 2, 98 in Study 3, and 116 in Study 4) read scenarios of a heterosexual sexual assault case and were randomly assigned to a control condition, a rape myth confirmation condition, or a rape myth debunking condition; they also reported the extent to which they endorsed or accepted rape myths. Rape myth acceptance robustly correlated with judgments made about accusers and accused rapists regardless whether the accuser/accused pairing was female/male (Studies 1 and 2) or male/female (Studies 3 and 4). For example, those who most strongly endorsed rape myths were also likely to disbelieve accusers. There were few instances indicating that the presentation of rape myth confirming information or rape myth debunking information moderated these effects. This lack of moderation occurred regardless of whether the information came from trial lawyers or from expert witnesses in the case. The relative impotence of the information presentations could be due to several factors (e.g., entrenched nature of rape myth acceptance, psychological reactance, timing and strength of manipulation), and we suggest ideas for how to overcome this relative impotence in future research.
Journal Article
Beliefs about Sexual Assault in India and Britain are Explained by Attitudes Toward Women and Hostile Sexism
As many as one in five women worldwide will be sexually assaulted over the course of her lifetime (United Nations 2008), yet myths that downplay the prevalence and severity of sexual assault are still widely accepted. Are myths about sexual assault (rape myths) more likely to be accepted in cultures that endorse more traditional gender roles and attitudes toward women? To explore the relationships among rape myth acceptance, attitudes toward women, and hostile and benevolent sexism, data were collected from 112 Indian and 117 British adults, samples from two cultures differing widely in their gender role traditionalism. Analyses confirmed a cultural difference in rape myth acceptance, with the more traditional culture, India, accepting myths to a greater extent than the more egalitarian culture, Britain. Indian participants’ greater rape myth acceptance was explained by their more traditional gender role attitudes and hostile sexism. We discuss ways in which promoting gender egalitarianism may help to break down negative beliefs and reduce the stigma surrounding sexual assault, especially in India, for example through interventions which increase exposure to women in less traditional roles (e.g., those in positions of power).
Journal Article