Kinship Myth in Ancient Greece Patterson Paperback John Wiley & Sons

Kinship Myth in Ancient GreeceAuthor(s): Lee E. Patterson\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: University of Texas Press, United States\nImprint: University of Texas Press\nISBN-13: 9780292737501, 978-0292737501\nSynopsis\nIn ancient Greece, interstate relations, such as in the formation of alliances, calls for assistance, exchanges of citizenship, and territorial conquest, were often grounded in mythical kinship. In these cases, the common ancestor was most often a legendary figure from whom both communities claimed descent. \n\n In this detailed study, Lee E. Patterson elevates the current state of research on kinship myth to a consideration of the role it plays in the construction of political and cultural identity. He draws examples both from the literary and epigraphical records and shows the fundamental difference between the two. He also expands his study into the question of Greek credulity-how much of these founding myths did they actually believe, and how much was just a useful f.