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In this, the first modern study of the ancient fairytale, Graham Anderson asks whether the familiar children's fairytale of today existed in the ancient world. He examines texts from the classical period and finds many stories which resemble those we know today, including: * a Jewish Egyptian Cinderella * a Snow White whose enemy is the goddess Artemis * a Pied Piper at Troy. He puts forward many previously unsuspected candidates as classical variants of the modern fairytale and argues that the degree of violence and cruelty in the ancient tales means they must have been meant for adults.
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FAIRYTALE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD Did the familiar children’s fairytales of today exist in the Ancient World? If so, what did they look like in a world whose societies were often so alien in outlook to our own? Could fairytales have existed in a world without society balls and glass slippers, or are they an invention of storytellers not much earlier than the European Renaissance? And could they have served the same social purposes as the fairytale of today? Graham Anderson examines texts from the classical period which resemble ‘our’ Cinderellas, Snow Whites, Red Riding Hoods, Bluebeards, and others, and argues that many familiar fairytales were already well known in antiquity in some form, but are often now to be found in the least accessible corners of classical literature. Examples include a Jewish-Egyptian Cinderella, complete with ashes, whose prince is the biblical Joseph; a Snow White whose enemy is the goddess Artemis; and a Pied Piper at Troy, with King Priam in the role of the little boy who got away. He breaks new ground by putting forward many previously unsuspected candidates as classical variants of the modern fairytale, and argues that the degree of cruelty and violence exhibited in many ancient examples means that such stories must often have been destined for adults. Fairytale in the Ancient World is the first modern general study of the ancient fairytale. It bridges a major gap between the study of the ancient world and the wider world of oral culture, and will be of immense value and interest to students and scholars of classical and comparative literature, folklore and the social sciences. Graham Anderson is Professor of Classics at the University of Kent at Canterbury. He has written studies on Lucian and Philostratus, and on fiction in the ancient world, as well as Holy Men in the Early Roman Empire (Routledge 1994) and The Second Sophistic (Routledge 1993). He is currently assembling the first ever Anthology of Ancient Fairytales. FAIRYTALE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD Graham Anderson London and New York First published 2000 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. © 2000 Graham Anderson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Anderson, Graham. Fairytale in the ancient world/Graham Anderson. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. 1. Mythology, Roman. 2. Mythology, Greek. 3. Fairy tales—History and criticism. 4. Classical literature—History and criticism. I. Title. BL805 .A63 2000 292.1'3–dc21 00–029109 ISBN 0-203-13245-9 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-18007-0 (Adobe eReader For