Agenorid Myth in the ›Bibliotheca‹ of Pseudo-Apollodorus: A Philological Commentary of Bibl. III.1-56 and a Study into the Composition and Organisation of the Handbook

Description

The Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, perhaps the best-known mythographic text, stands out for its comprehensive aim and state of preservation. The handbook has regularly been disregarded as a repository of 'standard' myths or as a primary witness to archaic stories, a reductive view at once underestimating and romanticizing the merits of the Bibliotheca. This monograph unlocks the Bibliotheca as a literary work in its own right by offering the first systematic commentary on an essential selection, the Cretan and Theban myths in Bibl. III.1-56, and by presenting an in-depth analysis of the text. In so doing, this volume closes a gap in current research, from which a philological commentary is entirely missing. The main part of the study focuses on various aspects of composition and organization by addressing structuring principles, narratorial interventions, and the author's method and sources. It lays to rest persistent misconceptions about the representative character of the Bibliotheca's myths, the author's merits, and his source use, all of which have divided the scholarship to this date. In addition, it provides an update on the author, date, purpose and readership, text history, and book division of the Bibliotheca. Words of Gratitude Contents List of illustrations and tables Introduction Part One: Pseudo-Apollodorus and The Bibliotheca 1 The Author of the Bibliotheca. A Brief Introduction 2 The Purpose and Target Audience of the Bibliotheca 3 The Textual History of the Bibliotheca 4 The Book Division of the Bibliotheca Part Two: Composition and Organization of The Bibliotheca 5 The Content and Arrangement of Book III 6 Formulaic Phrases as Organizational Tools in the Bibliotheca 7 Sources and Method of Ps.-Apollodorus Part Three: Commentary on Bibl. III.1–56 1 Introduction to the Agenorids (III.1–2) 2 Cretan Myths (III.2–20) 3 Theban Myths: Cadmus and Dionysus (III.21–39) 4 Theban Myths: Amphion & Zethus and the Labdacids (III.40–47) 5 Theban Myths: Oedipus (III.48–56) Appendix Genealogical Charts of the Agenorid Stemma and Theban Dynasties Bibliography Index Bibliothecae locorum Index aliorum locorum Index nominum mythologicorum