Published April 1, 2022 | Version v1
Book chapter Open

Images of Hope: The Gods in Greek Books for Young Children

Creators

  • 1. University of Roehampton, London, UK

Contributors

  • 1. Faculty of "Artes Liberales", University of Warsaw, Poland

Description

In this chapter, I discuss the text and illustrations in early readers of classical myth, for children aged four and above. I place two books about the Olympians and Dionysos in the context of Modern Greece and examine the degree of Greekness in the illustrations by comparing them to ancient works of art, folklore elements, and contemporary material culture. I argue that the gods’ comfortable and carefree lifestyle could parody (upper) middle-class living in the Western world. The gods may look modern, but they do not serve as credible models of happiness. Classical myth is cast back in the realm of a fantasy world, giving hope to young and adult audiences as fiction and entertainment. Readers may find additional hope as they develop a sense of belonging to a global community, sharing but also criticizing a consumerist lifestyle.

Notes

Book chapter in the volume: Katarzyna Marciniak, ed., Our Mythical Hope: The Ancient Myths as Medicine for Hardships of Life in Children's and Young Adults' Culture, in the series "Our Mythical Childhood", Warsaw: University of Warsaw Press, 2021, 836 pp. Open Access https://www.wuw.pl/product-eng-16830-Our-Mythical-Hope-The-Ancient-Myths-as-Medicine-for-the-Hardships-of-Life-in-Childrens-and-Young-Adults-Culture-PDF.html This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 681202 (2016–2022), Our Mythical Childhood... The Reception of Classical Antiquity in Children's and Young Adults' Culture in Response to Regional and Global Challenges, ERC Consolidator Grant led by Katarzyna Marciniak. Project's Website: www.omc.obta.al.uw.edu.pl CC BY 3.0 PL https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/pl/legalcode

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Katerina Volioti IMAGES OF HOPE.pdf

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Additional details

Funding

European Commission
OurMythicalChildhood – Our Mythical Childhood... The Reception of Classical Antiquity in Children’s and Young Adults’ Culture in Response to Regional and Global Challenges 681202