A Bestiary of Monsters in Greek Mythology
ISBN: 9781784919511
Platform/Publisher: Ebook Central / Archaeopress
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Limited; Download: 7 Days at a Time
Subjects: Religion;

Greek myths abound in images of beauty and perfection: charming gods, attractive goddesses, and handsome heroes, all of them standards of physical and spiritual flawlessness. However, the ancient Greeks were not fond of absolutes. No god or hero is shown without blemishes in character and ethics, and some are even physically imperfect, like Hephaestus, who is ugly and lame. Another element that dominates Greek mythology is the idea of balance. Good and evil, light and darkness, hubris and punishment. What could not be missing from this world is the image of reversed beauty: monstrosity. The aim of this book is to explore the realm of the imaginary world of Greek mythology and present the reader with a categorization of monstrosity, referring to some of the most noted examples in each category.

Spyros Syropoulos is an Associate Professor of Ancient Greek Literature at the Dept of Mediterranean Studies of the University of the Aegean in Rhodes. He is the acting Vice-Rector of the University of the Aegean (2014-2018). Since 2006, he teaches Ancient Greek Theater at the Open University of Greece. He is the director of the Masters Course 'Theater as a social and political institution during antiquity' at the Department of Mediterranean Studies of the University of the Aegean. He is the founder and editor of the electronic journal ELECTRYONE (http://www.electryone.gr) and since 2017 he is the General Secretary of the Greek delegation at the European University Association.

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