The Telephus myth in ancient Greek literature and art

Abstract

This thesis investigates the evolution of the Telephus myth in literature and art from the seventh to the first century BCE. It assesses how the myth changed over time, framing it in the diverse contexts in which it was modelled and remodelled by poets, artists, and politicians to deliver specific agendas. What results is a tale of multiple colonisations, a wandering myth embedded in different cultural milieu, both a product and a catalyst of cross-cultural exchanges, and an instrument of soft power, employed to influence societies and cultures.

The thesis is divided into four chapters preceded by an introduction and followed by a conclusion. In the introduction I explain my methodological choices and provide a literature review. Chapter One offers a compendium of the literary and artistic sources of the myth. Chapter Two focusses on the earliest stages of the myth, from its possible origins to Pindar, contextualising it in diverse cultural backgrounds and hypothesising a cross-pollination between the Greek and Anatolian worlds. Chapter Three is centred on the fifth century and studies how cultural and societal changes let to a shift in the approach to the mythical material. The focus is mainly on tragedy, and the myth is studied from a comparative point of view, exploring those motifs prominent in classical culture, namely child abandonment, assassination of kin, incest, and supplication. Chapter Four revolves around the reception of the myth outside of Athens (fourth to first century BCE), dealing first with the success of reperformances of Telephus-themed plays among the Italic and Italiote populations; and then investigating how the Attalids of Pergamon exploited the myth to legitimise their rule. In the conclusions I assess the results and suggest new opportunities for research.

Date of Award	9 May 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Patrick Finglass (Supervisor) & Lyndsay Coo (Supervisor)