Classical Traditions In Modern Fantasy

Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy presents fifteen all-new essays on how fantasy draws on ancient Greek and Roman mythology, philosophy, literature, history, art, and cult practice.

Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy presents fifteen all-new essays on how fantasy draws on ancient Greek and Roman mythology, philosophy, literature, history, art, and cult practice. Ranging from harpies to hobbits, from Cyclopes to Cthulhu, the comparative study of Classics and fantasy reveals deep similarities between ancient and modern ways of imagining the world.

Classical Traditions in Science Fiction is the first collection dedicated to the rich study of science fiction s classical heritage, offering a much-needed mapping of its cultural and intellectual terrain.

Preface ; Introduction: Displacing Antiquity in Science Fiction and Fantasy (Brett M -- Rogers, Benjamin Eldon Stevens) ; Part I: Displacing Points of Origin. 1 -- More 'T, ' Vicar? Revisiting Models and Methodologies for Classical Receptions in Science Fiction (Tony Keen) ; 2 -- Saxa loquuntur?: Archaeological Fantasies in Wilhelm Jensen's Gradiva (Jesse Weiner) ; 3 -- Time Travel and Self-Reflexivity in Receptions of Homer's Iliad (Claire Kenward) ; 4 -- Monuments and Tradition in Jack McDevitt's The Engines of God (Laura Zientek) ; Part II: Displaced in Space. 5 -- Lyra's Odyssey in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials (Ortwin Knorr) ; 6 -- Displacing Nostos and the Ancient Greek Hero in Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Suzanne Lye) ; 7. 'The nearest technically impossible thing': Classical Antiquity in the Novels of Helen Oyeyemi (Benjamin Eldon Stevens) ; Part III: Displaced in Time. 8 -- Dynamic Tensions: The Figure(s) of Atlas in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Stephen B -- Moses and Brett M -- Rogers) ; 9 -- Drinking Blood and Talking Ghosts in Diana Wynne Jones's The Time of the Ghost (Frances Foster) ; 10 -- Finding Cassandra in Science Fiction: The Seer of Agamemnon and the Time-Traveling Protector of Continuum (Jennifer Ranck) ; Part IV: Displacing Genre. 11 -- Classical Reception and the Half-Elf Cleric (C -- W -- Marshall) ; 12 -- The Gods Problem in Gene Wolfe's Soldier of the Mist (Vincent Tomasso) ; 13 -- The Divine Emperor in Virgil's Aeneid and the Warhammer 40K Universe (Alexander McAuley) ;Part V: Epilogue: Finding a Place in Displacement. 14 -- Just Your Averange Tuesday-Morning Minotaur (Catherynne M -- Valente).

In 15 all-new essays, this volume explores how science fiction and fantasy draw on materials from ancient Greece and Rome, 'displacing' them from their original settings-in time and space, in points of origins and genre-and encouraging readers to consider similar 'displacements' in the modern world. Modern examples from a wide range of media and genres-including Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials and the novels of Helen Oyeyemi, the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, and the role-playing games Dungeons and Dragons and Warhammer 40K-are brought alongside episodes from ancient myth, important moments from history, and more. All together, these multifaceted studies add to our understanding of how science fiction and fantasy form important areas of classical reception, not only transmitting but also transmuting images of antiquity. The volume concludes with an inspiring personal reflection from the New York Times-bestselling author of speculative fiction, Catherynne M. Valente, offering her perspective on the limitless potential of the classical world to resonate with experience today.

Both passionate and artful, learned and bawdy, Catullus is one of the best-known and critically significant poets from classical antiquity. An intriguing aspect of his poetry that has been neglected by scholars is his interest in silence, from the pauses that shape everyday conversation to linguistic taboos and cultural suppressions and the absolute silence of death. In Silence in Catullus, Benjamin Eldon Stevens offers fresh readings of this Roman poet's most important works, focusing on his purposeful evocations of silence. This deep and varied "poetics of silence" takes on many forms in Catullus's poetic corpus: underscoring the lyricism of his poetry; highlighting themes of desire, immortality-in-culture, and decay; accenting its structures and rhythms; and, Stevens suggests, even articulating underlying philosophies. Combining classical philological methods, contemporary approaches to silence in modern literature, and the most recent Catullan scholarship, this imaginative examination of Catullus offers a new interpretation of one of the ancient world's most influential and inimitable voices.

Focusing on representations of Celtic motifs and traditions in post-1980s adult fantasy literature, this book illuminates how the historical, the mythological and the folkloric have served as inspiration for the fantastic in modern and popular culture of the western world. Bringing together both highly-acclaimed works with those that have received less critical attention, including French and Gaelic fantasy literature, Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy explores such texts as Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Alan Garner's Weirdstone trilogy, the Irish fantasies of Jodi McIsaac, David Gemmell's Rigante novels, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison Keltiad books, as well as An Sgoil Dhubh by Iain F. MacLeòid and the Vertigen and Frontier series by Léa Silhol. Lively and covering new ground, the collection examines topics such as fairy magic, Celtic-inspired worldbuilding, heroic patterns, classical ethnography and genre tropes alongside analyses of the Celtic Tarot in speculative fiction and Celtic appropriation in fan culture. Introducing a nuanced understanding of the Celtic past, as it has been informed by recent debates in Celtic studies, this wide-ranging and provocative book shows how modern fantasy is indebted to medieval Celtic-language texts, folkloric traditions, as well as classical sources.

Frankenstein and Its Classics is the first collection of scholarship dedicated to how Frankenstein and works inspired by it draw on ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, philosophy, and myth. Presenting twelve new essays intended for students, scholars, and other readers of Mary Shelley's novel, the volume explores classical receptions in some of Frankenstein's most important scenes, sources, and adaptations. Not limited to literature, the chapters discuss a wide range of modern materials-including recent films like Alex Garland's Ex Machina and comics like Matt Fraction's and Christian Ward's Ody-C-in relation to ancient works including Hesiod's Theogony, Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound, Ovid's Metamorphoses, and Apuleius's The Golden Ass. All together, these studies show how Frankenstein, a foundational work of science fiction, brings ancient thought to bear on some of today's most pressing issues, from bioengineering and the creation of artificial intelligence to the struggles of marginalized communities and political revolution. This addition to the comparative study of classics and science fiction reveals deep similarities between ancient and modern ways of imagining the world-and emphasizes the prescience and ongoing importance of Mary Shelley's immortal novel. As Frankenstein turns 200, its complex engagement with classical traditions is more significant than ever.