Scrinium Classical Antiquity

BARING, A., and J. CASHFORD, The Myth of the Goddess. Evolution of an Image. BCA, London (...), 1991. XV,779p. ills. Bound wrps. Wrps bit worn. Name on free endpaper.'This is the ultimate that has been written on the myth of the Goddess so far, a powerful and most complete synthesis of what we know about the goddess between the Upper Palaeolithic and modern times. The book is a clear and masterful presentation in fifteen chapters of the flourishing Goddess religion in Upper Palaeolithic and Neolithic times; its demise during the Bronze Age caused by the infiltration's of patriarchal Indo-Europeans and Semitic peoples in the Near East and Europe; a cruel and total dethronement during the Iron Age; and ultimately, the irresistible rise of the goddess as Sophia and Virgin Mary as an indestructible archetype needed for the fullness of life in an unbalanced patriarchal society. Each chapter is an indispensable part of the whole and yet each can be read as a separate book. This Magnum Opus will serve as a sourcebook and a guide for many coming years. It will be an indispensable source work for historians of religion, philosophers, anthropologists, archaeologists, and everyone else interested in this very important development of religious ideas. The learned and unbiased presentation of the problem will help to overcome the fear of the Goddess. Most of all this book will serve as a torch for the future, directing us to an understanding of female and male, goddess and god, not in terms of opposition, but as complementarity.' (MARIJA GIMBUTAS). € 34.50 (Antiquarian)

BERMAN, D.W., Myth, Literature, and the Creation of the Topography of Thebes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2018. 1st paperback ed. X,190p. Paperback. 'The author’s program of 'exploring representations of a topography that lies at this juncture of the real and imagined city' (p. 2), fits into established traditions in both philological quiry, as well as those concerned with mapping socially inflected geographical space, the so-called spatial turn. The theories of Henri Lefebvre, Edward Soja, and Yi Fu Tuan that Berman presents in the introduction are, of course, only a few of the many that could be deployed here. From a European point of view, the debates about 'Erinnerungskulturen', i.e. the discussions on the formation of memory attached to specific monuments and places, also contribute to our understanding of how social self-consciousness may be formed in given societies. Nevertheless, Berman should not be criticised for not having written a historical study of these ideas, for he is not a historian but a philologist, presenting the sources he considers to be state-of-the-art according to his own formation as a scholar. Having worked on related subjects for years, he really knows the material he is writing about. (...) After introducing the main theories and scholarly literature on which the book relies, the first part gives an overview of the main archaeological features of the city of Thebes: boundaries and names, natural landmarks, and man-made structures like walls, graves, and buildings ('Introduction: Constructing a city', pp. 1-26). There follows a discussion of sources mentioning, or not mentioning, topographical aspects of Thebes, chronologically organised by types of texts. A first chapter is dedicated to Thebes in epic ('Epic Thebes', pp. 27-48), a second to Thebes in lyric sources (“Lyric Thebes”, pp. 49-74), a third to Thebes in Attic drama ('Thebes on stage', pp. 75-121), and a fourth to Thebes in the surviving poetry of the Hellenistic period ('Thebes of the library', pp. 122-140). The fifth chapter (“The creation of Theban topography”, pp. 141-159) summarizes the previous ones and discusses the evidence in Pausanias. Appendices to 'The plain(s) of Thebes' (pp. 160-161), 'The walls and gates of Thebes' (pp. 162-175, including six maps), 'Pindar’s house' (pp. 176-177), a bibliography ('References', pp. 178-184), an 'Index locorum' (pp. 185-187), and a “General index” (pp. 188-190) complete the monograph. (...) Myths, literature, and poetry supersede the destructive force of wars and earthquakes: a wonderful conclusion for everyone believing in the force of story-telling. This straightforwardly source-based, sometimes repetitive, but admirably detailed philological study provides a trustworthy, useful tool for scholars working on Boeotian Thebes with a view to topographical aspects as represented in ancient texts.' (ANGELA GANTER in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2015.10.32). € 32.50 (New)

BIANCHI, U., The Greek Mysteries. Brill, Leiden, 1976. 37,48p. Sewn. Cover a bit scratched. Lower corner cover a bit creased. Series: Iconography of Religions, XVII, 3. € 30.00 (Antiquarian)

BIE, J. de (ed.), Griekse Mythologie en Europese Cultuur. Lustrumuitgave van het Nederlands Klassiek Verbond. Nederlandse Boekhandel, Kapellen, 1978. VI,236p. Richly and nicely ills. Cloth. Gilt titled. A.o.: W. den BOER: Mythologie, cultus en godsdienstigheid bij de Grieken (pp.13-27); G. VERBEKE: Mythen sterven niet (pp.27-43); H. van LOOY: Mythologie in de Griekse letterkunde (pp.43-63); N. de PAEPE: Klassieke mythologie in de letterkunde van de Middeleeuwen (pp.97-115); F. BAUDOIN: De antieke mythologie in de Europese schilderkunst (pp.131-207). € 10.00 (Antiquarian)

BLAKE TYRRELL, W., Amazons. A Study in Athenian Mythmaking. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore/London, 1984. XIX,166p. Bound. € 34.50 (Antiquarian)

BLOK, J.H, Amazones antianeirai. Interpretaties van de Amazonenmythe in het mythologisch onderzoek van de 19e en 20e eeuw en in archaïsch Griekenland. Egbert Forsten, Groningen, n.d.(>1991) 407p. Sewn. ‘Het werk bestaat uit twee hoofddelen, zoals de ondertitel reeds te kennen geeft: een historiografisch betoog van een honderd pagina’s, gevolgd door een analyse van de Amazonenmythe in de archaïsche tijd, dat will zeggen vóór 500 v. chr., van 250 pagina’s lengte. (…) Het eerste, historiografische deel behelst meer dan een opsomming van wat er in de negentiende en twintigste eeuw over Amazonen beweerd is. Het is bovenal een poging de ideologische wortels van de aangedragen interpretaties bloot te leggen (…). Blok biedt een zeer overtuigende, diepgravende analyse van het werk van een aantal van haar voorgangers. Conclusie van dit alles is een eigen plaatsbepaling. (…) De mythe moet als mythe bekeken worden, stelt Blok, zonder op zoek te gaan naar een vermeende buiten-mythische achtergrond. (…) Benaderingen die uitgaan van de historiciteit van de Amazonen, worden door de schrijfster afgewezen. (…) In het tweede gedeelte van Bloks studie wordt ten eerste de wordingsgeschiedenis van het Amazonen-motief, ten tweede de ontwikkeling van de mythe in de tijd behandeld. (…) De grote aandacht voor het ongeschreven materiaal naast de tekstuele bronnen is zeker niet de minst aantrekkelijke kant van dit boek; ondanks de vele problemen die een beschouwing van de iconografie met zich meebrengt, heeft Blok terecht gemeend beide typen bronnen te moeten behandelen. Het verleent haar boek een grote meerwaarde. In haar analyse van het taalgebruik, van de verhaalstructuren en van de afbeeldingsschema’s toont Blok ons de ambiguïteit van de figuur van de Amazone: er schuilt een fundamentele tegenstrijdigheid in een vrouw als strijder. Dit concept botst met het traditionele Griekse ideaal inzake de rolverdeling tussen de seksen. (…) De aandacht voor de wijze waarop de noties van mannelijkheid en vrouwelijkheid, ter discussie gesteld door de ambigue figuur van de Amazone, een samenleving, of althans de mannelijke sprekers van die samenleving, tot een zelfbeeld helpen te komen, maakt het onderhavige boek tot een voorbeeld van een ‘gender study’. (…) Wie iets met Amazonen wil, dient zich de zeker niet lichte arbeid van bestudering van deze dissertatie te getroosten.’ (FRITS NAEREBOUT in Tijdschrift voor Vrouwenstudies, 1993, pp.93-95). € 18.50 (Antiquarian)

BOARDMAN, J., J. GRIFFIN and O. MURRAY, (eds.), Greece and the Hellenistic World. Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York, 1998. 9th impr. VIII,446p. ills.(B&W photographs). Paperback. Nice copy. The Oxford History of the Classical World was originally published as one volume. For this paperback edition, it appeared as two books: 'Greece and the Hellenistic World' and 'The Roman World'. € 14.50 (Antiquarian)

BOER, W. den, (ed.), Les Études Classiques aux XIXe et XXe siècles: leur place dans l'histoire des idées. Fondation Hardt, Genève, 1980. (4),346p. Cloth. Small personal library mark and name on free endpaper.Huit exposés suivis de discussions par W. den Boer, K.J. Dover, R.R. Bolgar, A. Momigliano, W. Burkert, E. Patlagean, Fr. Krafft. A.o.: W. den BOER: Les historiens des religions et leurs dogmes (pp.1-45); K.J. DOVER: Expurgation of Greek Literature (pp.55-91); A. MOMIGLIANO: The Place of Ancient Historiography in Modern Historiography (pp.127-159); W. BURKERT: Griechische Mythologie und die Geistesgeschichte der Moderne (pp.159-209). From the library of the late Sir Kenneth James Dover. € 25.00 (Antiquarian)

BOTHEROYD, S., and P.F., Lexikon der keltischen Mythologie. Diederichs, München, 1992. 378p. 3 maps. ills.(B&W photographs). Cloth wrps. € 26.50 (Antiquarian)

BOTTICI, C., A Philosophy of Political Myth. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (...), 2007. 286p. Bound wrps. 'Chiara Bottici’s new book A Philosophy of Political Myth is a comprehensive and groundbreaking answer to these questions [as to the nature of myth], and in it, she shows us the importance of myth in the study of philosophy, culture and politics. […] In sum, Bottici’s book is an important contribution to political philosophy as well as to the theory of imagination and culture.' (Philosophy and Social Criticism). € 85.00 (Antiquarian)