Folklore of the ancient Greeks
Ancient Greek folklore includes genres such as mythology (Greek mythology), legend, and folktales. According to classicist William Hansen: "the Greeks and Romans had all the genres of oral narrative known to us, even ghost stories and urban legends, but they also told all kinds that in most of the Western world no longer circulate orally, such as myths and fairytales."[1]
Specific genres of folklore have been the topic of scholarly examination, including ghostlore. For example, classicist Debbie Felton notes that "the Greeks and Romans had many folk-beliefs concerning ghosts", and highlights a variety of instances of the genre in the Classical record.[2]
Historically, classicists rarely delved into folklore studies.[3]
See also
- Modern Greek folklore
- Roman folklore
Notes
References
- Anderson, Graham (2006). Greek and Roman Folklore: A Handbook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313335754.
- Felton, D (2010). Haunted Greece and Rome: Ghost Stories from Classical Antiquity. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-78924-1.
- Hansen, William (2019). The Book of Greek and Roman Folktales, Legends, and Myths. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691195926.
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