Gods and Mortals in Early Greek and Near Eastern Mythology

Explores the interaction between Greece and the Ancient Near East through stories about the gods and their relationships with humankind.

Addresses one of the most important current questions in the study of antiquity – the contribution of the Near East to the mythology of Ancient Greece. Leading specialists from both fields come together to consider both shared and unique stories about gods and their relationships with humankind.This volume centres on one of the most important questions in the study of antiquity – the interaction between Greece and the Ancient Near East, from the Mycenaean to the Hellenistic periods. Focusing on the stories that the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean told about the gods and their relationships with humankind, the individual treatments draw together specialists from both fields, creating for the first time a truly interdisciplinary synthesis. Old cases are re-examined, new examples discussed, and the whole range of scholarly opinions, past and present, are analysed, critiqued, and contextualised. While direct textual comparisons still have something to show us, the methodologies advanced here turn their attention to deeper structures and wider dynamics of interaction and influence that respect the cultural autonomy and integrity of all the ancient participants.