Myths and Ancient Stories

An introduction to ancient myths and the critical discussions that surround them, this book dives into the stories of pre-modern culture, taking a comparative look at how they have shaped the West and modern storytelling as we have come to understand it today.

It makes texts and scholarship from Near Eastern, Classical, and Celtic disciplines engaging and accessible, and traces narrative meaning through stories from ancient Mesopotamia to the British Medieval Period. This book offers compelling pathways into such writings as The Epic of Gilgamesh, Genesis and Job, The Odyssey, The Mabinogi, The Life of St Cadoc, and Sir Orfeo.

Looking at each in detail, Myths and Ancient Stories also explores myth through a modern lens, probing how, in this scientific age, it continues to inspire contemporary film, games, and literary works by authors such as Margaret Atwood, Colm Tóibín, Madeleine Miller, and Pat Barker.

Impressive in breadth and bringing together a wide range of foundational texts from diverse traditions for the first time, this work is the ideal orientation to the ancient works central to English literary culture, shedding light on the mythological roots of storytelling and narrative.