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Ancient Greek Literature

Homer

Iliad, Book VIII, lines 245–53, Greek manuscript, late 5th, early 6th centuries AD.

Within ancient Greek literature, Homer defines what we know as epic. Within his work The Iliad, he recounts some of the significant events of the final weeks of the Trojan war — such as that of the story of Achilles and Patroclus, in which due to feeling dishonoured, Achilles abandons the war. Patroclus then leads an army into battle wearing Achilles' armour, and is inevitably killed by Hector. A grief follows Achilles, then - and he requests that his ashes be mixed with Patroclus'. Achilles then returns to battle, with the intent of killing Hector, despite being warned that it could mean his own death. And yet he succeeds in his task, and kills Hector.

The other key work by Homer is The Odyssey, which can be considered a sequel to his prior work of The Iliad. This story follows Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who wanders for ten years, trying to get home after the Trojan war. While he battles mystical creatures and faces that of the gods, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus stave off suitors fighting for Penelope's hand and Ithaca's throne long enough for Odysseus to return. At last, Odysseus manages to return, killing all of Penelope's suitors, and takes place in Ithaca alongside his wife again.

Hesiod

Hesiod is a key figure within ancient Greek literature, most notably for the work of The Theogony, which effectively means "birth of the gods". It is generally a hymn to Zeus, but the birth of the world, in addition to the other Greek gods, are effectively mentioned, as well. However, scholars have suggested that Hesiod, along with Homer both depended on an older epic, which dealt with Cronus and the Titans and, presumably, the beginning of things . This, as a result, would mean that Hesiod would not be the first poet of a theogony which, in turn, could question how important he is as a figure of Greek literature, as a result.

Myth in Shakespeare

The next clear mention of Greek mythology in literature is that of the work of William Shakespeare, a well-known playwright. However, while Greek myth is used within his work, Shakespeare actually took a lot of inspiration from Roman mythology, specifically the poet Ovid, which was his most important source of information.

Portrait of William Shakespeare

Poetry

A key poem in which Shakespeare's includes allusions to mythology is that of Venus and Adonis. [1] He also uses classical allusions in The Rape of Lucrece [2] . Both of these poems allude to Roman mythology, but considering the fact that the Roman's aligned their stories with the Greek (for example, Aphrodite becomes Venus and Hades becomes Pluto), it is fair to assume that Shakespeare's poetry also aligns with Greek mythology.

Plays

Allusions to Greek mythology are used throughout Shakespeare's plays, such as A Midsummer's Night Dream, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest and other Shakespeare plays. For example:

Well, in that hit you miss. She’ll not be hit
With Cupid’s arrow. She hath Dian’s wit

"She’ll not be hit with Cupid’s arrow" is an allusion to Eros, also commonly known as Cupid. There are other allusions, such as "Speak to my gossip Venus one fair word" — which refers to Venus, who is known as Aphrodite within Greek mythology.

Modern Literature

Classics

Greek references are very popular in what we consider the classics. For example, The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter, in which Carter makes references to the Leda and the Swan myth, in which Zeus, taking the form of a Swan, rapes Leda. This is referenced in The Magic Toyshop as the male villain makes, the main character, Melanie act as Leda, and inevitably a swan falls on her, giving the image of Leda and the Swan in the original myth.

Modern Fiction

Greek retellings are particularly popular in modern fiction. For example, the novels by Madeline Miller (The Song of Achilles and Circe) are popular in today's fiction, which focuses on the original myth, only as suggested, retelling it. The Song of Achilles focuses on the insinuated romance between Achilles and Patroclus, for instance. Historical fiction is a very popular, and growing genre of fiction, so Greek retellings are only increasing, thus showing that Greek mythology has been present in literature throughout time.

Other Greek retellings include:

• A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
• Oreo by Fran Ross
• The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
• Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
• Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe
• etc...

Bibliography

Britannica (2021) Odyssey. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Odyssey-epic-by-Homer (Accessed: 9 Feburary 2022).

Classical Literature (N.D) The Iliad – Homer – Poem: Story, Summary & Analysis. Available at: https://www.ancient-literature.com/greece_homer_iliad.html (Accessed: 4th February 2022).

CliffsNotes (N.D.) The Odyssey. Available at: https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/o/the-odyssey/the-odyssey-at-a-glance (Accessed: 12 Feburary 2022).

Cummings, M. (2016) Shakespeare and Mythology. Available at: shakespearestudyguide.com/Olympus.html (Accessed: 14 February 2022).

Delahoyde & Hughes (N.D.) Hesiod: Theogony. Available at:https://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/mythology/theogony.html (Accessed: 13 February 2022).

Nagy, G. (2008) 'Homer and Greek myth', in Woodard, R. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.52-83.

Shakespeare, W. (1597) Romeo and Juliet. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Solmsen, F. (1995) Hesiod and Aeschylus. Ithaca : Cornell University Press.

External Links

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56962/venus-and-adonis-56d239f8f109c

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50474/the-rape-of-lucrece