BMCR 2009.04.73: Moormann on Moog-Grunewald, Mythenrezeption: Die antike Mythologie in Literatur, Musik und Kunst von den Anfangen bis zur Gegenwart. Der Neue Pauly. Supplemente 5

Maria Moog-Gruenewald (ed.), Mythenrezeption: Die antike Mythologie in
Literatur, Musik und Kunst von den Anfaengen bis zur Gegenwart. Der
Neue Pauly. Supplemente 5.  Stuttgart:  Verlag J. B. Metzler, 2008.
Pp. ix, 749; figs.  ISBN 9783476020321.  EUR 179.95.

Reviewed by Eric M. Moormann, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen
([email protected])
Word count:  1060 words
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>From the outset, the project of Der Neue Pauly [hereafter: DNP] has
aimed at a thorough discussion of the reception and history of research
on antiquity. It has resulted in a series of five volumes of
Rezeptions- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte and a series of one-volume
dictionaries collected in a supplemental series. The reception of myth
and mythology is a long-studied field, and the authors of the work
under review know that they are standing in a centuries-old tradition.
However, encyclopedias that combine descriptions of mythological
figures and their gesta with overviews of the reception these themes
have had over the centuries are rare in comparison to dictionaries of
Greek and Roman myth (see list at p. 679). Therefore, this work is most
welcome, since it will have a wide distribution along with the popular
DNP series. Nevertheless, its high price will prevent many private
collectors from buying it.

The extremely brief introduction written by the editor (pp. VII-VIII)
makes clear that no exhaustive lists, let alone thorough discussion, of
every example of Nachleben have been included. An entry's task is to
sketch the development of a mythical person's appearance within the
culture and its subsequent history. All authors succeed in that task,
and the reader will not find endless dry enumerations of works.

Maria Moog-Gruenewald fails to mention the large category of theatre
adaptations - in addition to amply discussed cases in music and film.
As one will understand when perusing the entries themselves, theatre is
seen as part of literature in a very traditional classicist way, and
fortunately all entries pay attention to drama's reuse of ancient
myths. An innovative aspect of this volume is the inclusion of the use
of myth in philosophical, psychological and scientific, and sometimes
even political debates. The editor has great ambitions and stresses
that individual articles may be long ("ausfuehrlich"), even if the book
as a whole is of a manageable size. As a matter of fact, the most
impressive and the longest articles discuss complex figures like
Dionysos (pp. 230-246), Herakles (pp. 326-343), the Muses (pp.
441-457), Orpheus (pp. 522-538), and Prometheus (pp. 605-621). By
contrast, the main Olympian gods Athena, Demeter, Hera, and Zeus
receive relatively brief entries. As for Zeus, the inclusion of all his
lovers has not been attempted, so that only a few of them have their
own entry (e.g. Danae, Europa, Ganymedes, Leda).

The spelling in general follows the ancient Greek spellings also used
in DNP, but in some cases, mostly those of groups of figures, the
modern German practice prevails: Amazonen, Argonauten [in Iason],
Chariten, Kentauren, Moiren, Musen, Nymphen, Silen, Sirenen.

Since all these figures also feature in DNP 1-12 itself, it may be
useful to compare the two sets of descriptions. Those in DNP retell
mythical stories less and concentrate instead on the character and
implications of a mythical figure within ancient society. Iconography
and art history are often discussed in a terse way or not at all. The
use of both lexicons together may therefore be advantageous for a
reader who is trying to get a more complete image of a god or human
figure in all its complexity. I tested complex figures like Dionysos,
Medea, and Orpheus and can confirm that these entries match admirably,
so that I may conclude that the authors of the headwords in this volume
have taken into account the articles in DNP.

For the sake of systematization, many figures who have no entry of
their own are featured in articles about personages with whom they are
always associated. This treatment sometimes causes their particular
deeds to be overshadowed, so that they seem to have no life of their
own. In my view, a few figures, like the poorly worked-out
Sisyphos[[1]] and Telemachos, would not need entries of their own.
However, I miss several famous figures (or: several famous figures lack
their own article; cf. note 1). Gods like Asklepios, Hekate, Leto,
Nike, the Sibyls, and the Titans are only featured in combination with
others. As for mortal figures, I looked in vain for characters such as
Bellerophon, the Danaids, Diomedes, Hermaphroditos, Idomeneus, Io, Ion,
Kallisto, Kekrops, Meleagros (partly covered by Atalante, of course),
Minos (but see Minotauros), Pelops, Philoktetes, Polyneikes (the Theban
cycle is all gathered under Antigone), Telephos, and Troilos (but see
Achilleus).

The absence of separate articles for these figures does not mean that
the work as a whole is defective - that is not at all the case - but a
more thorough system of internal cross references and references to
other volumes of DNP might have increased its value and relieved the
pain of the absence of, for instance, an article on Laokoon with his
huge reception, and especially on the marble statue group in Rome
described in DNP 15/1,10-19.[[2]]

The articles are composed in a well conceived system. Part A tells the
myth, while part B discusses the reception. They are divided into
periods (Antiquity, Middle Ages, Modern Times, sometimes split up into
Renaissance and Baroque, Enlightenment, 20th century, vel sim.), and
within these periods attention is paid to philosophy and literature,
including theatre, art, music and dance, and finally film. A topic is
omitted if it is not relevant to a particular myth. As for modern
media, comic books and graphic novels are included, and psychoanalysis
features in the sections on literature and philosophy (e.g. Eros,
Oidipus).

All entries have their own bibliographies of specific studies about the
figure discussed, but, as a result, interesting general works are not
mentioned. A larger general bibliography might have been of help, and
in that sense the Auswahlbibliographie on pp. 679-680 is not rewarding.
Within the organization into groups of works (general, bibliographical,
epochs), sections that match the organization of the articles (see
supra) are lacking, for which reason collective works on art
(especially exhibition catalogues or other books of interest), drama,
film and so on are excluded.[[3]] Moreover, in the entries as well as
the bibliographies the accent lies on studies written in German.[[4]]

But I wish to be clear, this dictionary is and will remain an
indispensable tool for all who are interested in the tradition and
reception of mythical topics between Antiquity and later culture. It
would be a good thing if the book would become available in a more
affordable edition to students, scholars of different disciplines, and
amateurs of ancient literature.


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Notes:


1.   Since Sisyphos is included, why not include other humans punished
for their evil deeds, such as Arachne, the Danaids, Ixion, and Orion,
all also known after Antiquity. The presentation of the underworld is
even more deficient, since the Erinyes, Hades, Harpies, Hypnos, Minos,
and Thanatos, to name the main figures associated with death, must be
looked for in other entries.

2.   See in the same volume DNP 15/1 of 2001 the articles Mythologie
(Manuel Baumbach, columns 611-636) and Mythos (Fritz Graf, columns
636-648), in which interesting aspects of the fortune of myth and
mythology are discussed. On Laokoon see now also D. Gall and A.
Wolkenhauer (eds.). Laokoon in Literatur und Kunst: Schriften des
Symposions "Laokoon in Literatur und Kunst" vom 30.11.2006,
Universitaet Bonn, Berlin/New York 2009.

3.   E.g. on film [partly too new to be included, but good examples of
general literature]: M. Lindner (ed.), Drehbuch Geschichte. Die antike
Welt im Film, Muenster 2005; M. McDonald, Euripides in Cinema,
Philadelphia 1993; M. Meier/S. Slanicka (eds.), Antike und Mittelalter
im Film. Konstruktion - Dokumentation - Projektion, Cologne 2007; G.
Nisbet, Ancient Greece in film and popular culture, Exeter 2008.

4.   E.g. for Italy: J.T. Kirby, Secret of the Muses Retold. Classical
Influences on Italian Authors of the Twentieth Century, Chicago 2001.
For Britain: G. Miles (ed.), Classical Mythology in English Literature,
London 1999; A.B. Taylor (ed.), Shakespeare's Ovid: The Metamorphoses
in the Plays and Poems, Cambridge 2001.