The Oxford Handbook of Monsters in Classical Myth

The Oxford Handbook of Monsters in Classical Myth presents forty chapters about the unique and terrifying creatures from myths of the long-ago Near East and Mediterranean world, featuring authoritative contributions by many of the top international experts on ancient monsters and the monstrous. The first part provides original studies of individual monsters such as the Chimaera, Cerberus, the Hydra, and the Minotaur, and of monster groups such as dragons, centaurs, sirens, and Cyclopes. This section also explores their encounters with the major heroes of classical myth, including Perseus, Jason, Heracles, and Odysseus. The second part examines monsters of ancient folklore and ethnography, encompassing the restless dead, blood-drinking lamiae, exotic hybrid animals, the so-called dog-headed men, and many other unexpected creatures and peoples. The third part covers various interpretations of these creatures from multiple perspectives, including psychoanalysis, colonialism, and disability studies, with monster theory itself evident across the entire volume. The final part discusses reception of these ancient monsters across time and space--from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance to modern times, from Persia to Scandinavia, the Caribbean, and Latin America-and concludes with chapters considering the use and adaptation of ancient monsters in children's literature, science fiction, fantasy, and modern scientific disciplines. This Handbook is the first large-scale, inclusive guide to monsters in antiquity, their places in literature and art across the millennia, and their influence on later literature and thought.

Author: Debbie Felton
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 08/07/2024
Pages: 640
Binding Type: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780192896506

About the Author
Debbie Felton, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Debbie Felton is Professor of Classics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research focuses on folklore in classical antiquity, especially tales of the monstrous and supernatural. Her books include Haunted Greece and Rome (1999), the edited volumes Landscapes of Dread in Classical Antiquity (2018) and A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in Antiquity (2021), and Monsters and Monarchs: Serial Killers in Classical Myth and History (2021). She enjoys bringing her research into the public sphere, and has appeared in various media (newspapers, radio, tv, blogs, podcasts, webinars) in the USA and Europe.