CSTS 209: Classical Mythology (HC)

Cinema loves Greece and Rome. Hollywood epics, animated movies, avant-garde features - all have turned to classical antiquity for inspiration. Through analysis of ten influential films, this book examines the representation of Greece and Rome in popular and art-house cinema. Arranged by cinematic genre, it offers an accessible introduction to the depiction of antiquity in cinema.

This book offers a comprehensive treatment of the Classical World in film and television.Topics discussed include Hollywood politics in film, soundtrack and sound design, high art and low art, European art cinemas, and the ancient world. Also explores science fiction and fantasy set in the ancient world.

See the essay "Film" by Karl Galinsky.

The recent success of Hollywood blockbusters such as Troy, Alexander and 300 demonstrates how popular Greek antiquity still is and how well it can be marketed. Today as in the golden age of the peplum-genre, its myths, the Homeric heroes, the Attic tragedies, and less frequently historical personages such as Alexander the Great or the Spartan king Leonidas represent Hellas. The authors of this volume highlight the many and varied forms of the reception of ancient Hellas in the history of the cinema, from mythology to Roman Greece, from the era of silent films to the new millennium.

See the essay "Film Studies" by Pantelis Michelakis.