The decision on my topic of research was very easy and quick. Stories about heroes, adventures and love have always been a huge part of me, so I cannot think of a better focus of research than ancient ancestors of all… Myths. At first, I planned to take a beautiful and very long trip across the mythologies of the world and look at their specific approach to mountains. For some cultures they are characters on their own, others present them as villains, guardians, companions or places. Every mythology has its variation and to cover them all I would need more than one semester, possibly I would need more than one lifetime. 

My research will cover the symbolism of mountains within only one culture, one specific set of myths. I’ve been obsessed with Greek mythology since my first reading of Eduard Petiška’s Ancient Greek Myths and Legends. Centuries-old stories can show us we did not change much as humans, not even as a society. The role of the mountains was very often connected with gods, and Greek mythology is not an exception. Olympus, Pelion, Othrys and many others are known to be home or somehow connected places to Greek deities such as gods, muses or mythical creatures. 

The aim is to analyse how the myths reflect the view of an ancient world on the mountains. How do the mountains get their names? Why are some of the peaks considered sacred? Is mountain a guardian or something to be feared from an ancient Greece perspective?

The primary source will be Ovid’s The metamorphoses, which covers the best-known Greek myths and legends. As secondary sources, I’ve chosen academic articles providing a closer look at the mountain’s symbolism and ancient perspective. 

Sany

Sources:

Alan J. B. Wace. “The Topography of Pelion and Magnesia.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies 26 (1906): 143–68. https://doi.org/10.2307/624345.

Burn, A. R. “Helikon in History: A Study in Greek Mountain Topography.” The Annual of the British School at Athens 44 (1949): 313–23. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30096736.

Cotterell, Arthur. 1992. A Dictionary of World Mythology. New Ed. Rev. and Expanded, Repr. Oxford Reference. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hyde, Walter Woodburn. “The Ancient Appreciation of Mountain Scenery.” The Classical Journal 11, no. 2 (1915): 70–84. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3288010.

Kalligas, Paul. “Honey from Hymettus: Platonic Philosophy in the Cave of Pan.” Classics Ireland 27 (2020): 165–96. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27076610.

Langdon, Merle K. “Mountains in Greek Religion.” The Classical World 93, no. 5 (2000): 461–70. https://doi.org/10.2307/4352439.

Leeming, David. ‘Mountain Mythology’. In The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2005. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195156690.001.0001/acref-9780195156690-e-1085.

Mould, D. D. C. Pochin. “THE SYMBOL OF THE MOUNTAIN.” Life of the Spirit (1946-1964) 9, no. 97 (1954): 17–20. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43706698.

Ovidius. 1960. The metamorphoses. New York: Mentor.

Richard Buxton. “Imaginary Greek Mountains.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies 112 (1992): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.2307/632149.

Scott, W. “The ‘Mountain-Mother’ Ode in the Helena of Euripides.” The Classical Quarterly 3, no. 3 (1909): 161–79. http://www.jstor.org/stable/636350.

Theodora Kopestonsky. “The Greek Cult of The Nymphs at Corinth.” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens 85, no. 4 (2016): 711–77. https://doi.org/10.2972/hesperia.85.4.0711.