How have fairy tales from around the world changed over the centuries? What do they tell us about different cultures and societies? Spanning chronologically from the third millennium BCE through to the seventh century CE and beyond, and geographically from the Mediterranean to the Near East and Asia, this book explores the earliest known evidence of familiar folk tales and fairy tales in the ancient world. Drawing on sources including the Rig Veda, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Old Testament, the Westcar Papyrus, and the Odyssey, this volume ranges from epic poetry to drama, to fables and proverbs, and from ancient histories to novels. Scholars in Classics, Anthropology, Folklore, and Asian Studies examine the dissemination, adaptation, and cross-cultural interactions of early forms of folk tales, providing new insights into how they functioned and circulated across different societies. An essential resource for scholars and students of ancient literature, history, and cultural studies, this book explores topics including: forms of the marvelous, gender and sexuality, monsters and the monstrous, the significance of spaces, socialization and moral messaging, and the uses and abuses of power. A Cultural History of Fairy Tales (6-volume set) A Cultural History of Fairy Tales in Antiquity is also available as a part of a 6-volume set, A Cultural History of Fairy Tales, tracing fairy tales from antiquity to the present day, available in print, or within a fully-searchable digital library accessible through institutions by annual subscription or on perpetual access (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com). Individual volumes for academics and researchers interested in specific historical periods are also available digitally via www.bloomsburycollections.com.

Autorentext
Debbie Felton is Professor of Classics at the University of Massachussetts, Amherst, USA.Her previous books include, as editor, Landscapes of Dread in Classical Antiquity (2018).

Inhalt

List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Series Preface
List of Abbreviations

Introduction: Ancient Analogues for Modern Tales
Debbie Felton

1. Forms of the Marvelous: Prodigies and Wonders in Antiquity
   Graham Anderson

2. Adaptations: Transmission, Translation, and Diffusion of
   Ancient Tales
   Emanuele Lelli

3. Gender and Sexuality: Reading Females, Males, and Other in
   Asian Folktales
   Serinity Young

4. Human and Non-Human: The Animal in Greek and Roman Fable
   Kenneth Kitchell

5. Monsters and the Monstrous: Ancient Expressions of Cultural
   Anxiety
   Debbie Felton

6. Spaces: Borders, Fringes, and Thresholds in the Ancient Folktale
   Julia Doroszewska and Janek Kucharski

7. Socialization: Fairy Tales as Vehicles of Moral Messages
   Dominic Ingemark and Camilla Asplund Ingemark

8. Power: Uses and Abuses of Authority in Ancient Tales
   Debbie Felton

   Notes
   Bibliography
   Notes on Contributors
   Index