The Archaeology of Nostalgia: How the Greeks Re-Created Their Mythical Past

Anyone who's visited Paul Bunyan's birthplace or seen a""George Washington Slept Here"" plaque will feel a pang of recognition at this engaging survey of the material basis of Greek mythology in the Classical era. According to Boardman, an authority on Greek art and archaeology, the Greeks saw little distinction between myth and history. They drew on their natural surroundings, the visible remnants of faded civilizations and artistic representations borrowed from abroad to provide tangible confirmation of existing""myth-histories"" and inspire new ones. To them, fossils were the remains of giants and sea-monsters, an anthropomorphic out-cropping became the petrified body of a weeping maiden, and Mycenaean ruins marked the citadels of Homeric kings; meanwhile, the flourishing of Greek art made depictions of mythical narratives a ubiquitous backdrop to everyday life. The Greeks had few hang-ups about authenticity or attribution; antique weapons and""bric-a-brac"" were assumed to be relics of the local demi-god or hero, and any respectable town could boast a house where a mythical personage had lived. A cottage industry grew up to supply copies and forgeries to memorabilia-poor areas and facilitated an extensive tourist economy in Roman times. As a result,""the pious Greek was well aware that he walked and lived in a physical world that had been shared by heroes, nymphs and gods."" Combining scholarly erudition, an accessible style, and crisp black-and-white photos of Greek art and architecture, Boardman brings this great cultural effort to life. 183 illustrations