Mythe et pouvoir à l’époque hellénistique

Edited by C. Cusset Edited by N. Le Meur-Weissman Edited by F. Levin

Book cover: Mythe et pouvoir à l’époque hellénistique

Extent: 538 pages

Publisher: Peeters Publishers

Subjects: Classical Studies, Literary Studies

Series: Hellenistica Groningana

Series volume number: 18

Language: French

Paperback (Published)

(October 2012)

ISBN: 9789042926844

Price: $82.00

In stock

The myths inherited from tradition take on a new significance during the Hellenistic era, bestowed once again by the royal power that uses them as means of justification and propaganda. Taking on a political meaning and being now linked to the dynastic cult, the mythological figures and tales become the object of a political stance – the myths now become the eulogy of power or the discourse of political evidence, according to how they are used by the artists. It is this redefinition of the importance of myths and their usage by the poets, who make it a point to shed light on the poems in this collection, which is the subject of an international symposium organized at the Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon in the context of the ANR.


English summary: The myths inherited from tradition take on a new significance during the Hellenistic era, as royal powers use them as means of justification and propaganda. Taking on a political meaning and now linked to the dynastic cult, the mythological figures and tales become the object of a political stance – the myths now become the eulogy of power or the discourse of political evidence, according to how they are used by the artists. French text. French description: Les mythes herites de la tradition prennent a l’epoque hellenistique une nouvelle signification et sont investis d’un nouveau role par le pouvoir royal qui les utilise a des fins de justification et de propagande. Ainsi revetus d’une signification politique, et desormais lies au culte dynastique, les figures et recits mythologiques deviennent le lieu d’un positionnement politique: les mythes portent desormais, selon les usages qu’en font les artistes, l’eloge du pouvoir en place ou le discours de l’irreverence politique. C’est ce profond renouvellement de la place assignee aux mythes et de leur utilisation par les poetes que se proposent de mettre en lumiere les articles composant ce recueil qui sont issus d’un colloque international organise a l’Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon dans le cadre du projet ANR Culture Antiquaire et Invention de la Modernite.

  • Edited by C. Cusset
  • Edited by N. Le Meur-Weissman
  • Edited by F. Levin