Greek Myths for a Post-Truth World - by Yiannis Gabriel (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book examines what ancient Greek myths can teach us about the troubles and challenges of our 'post-truth' times: environmental degradation, mass migration, war, inequality, exclusion, authoritarianism, and perplexing technological possibilities. It shows how Greek myths assume new meanings in contemporary culture but continue to stir emotions and shape experiences. They offer a diversity of possible answers to questions that preoccupy us and act as fountains of meaning in our times when meaning becomes precarious and fragmented"--

Book Synopsis

Yiannis Gabriel examines what ancient Greek myths can teach us about the troubles and challenges of our 'post-truth' times: environmental degradation, mass migration, war, inequality, exclusion, authoritarianism and perplexing technological possibilities. It shows how Greek myths continue to stir our emotions and shape our experiences, while also assuming new meanings in contemporary culture that suggest a diversity of possible answers to questions that preoccupy us today. In addition to acting as fountains of meaning when meaning is precarious and fragmented, Greek myths have a therapeutic power connecting us to the predicaments that humans have faced across the ages.

Across centuries and millennia, Cassandra makes her unheeded prophecies and Pandora unleashes fresh troubles from her box. Yet, each age discovers new meaning and value in old stories, and different myths come into prominence as they address the aspirations and anxieties of each. Using ten ancient myths as his points of departure, Yiannis Gabriel invites readers to think and experience the world we inhabit mythologically - to engage with emotions and symbolism that lurk deeply inside old texts and to consider different courses of action, both individual and collective. In addition to providing intellectual stimulation, the book shows that Greek myths can be a source of practical wisdom and re-assurance that we so badly need in our times.

Review Quotes

"Anyone teaching Classical Mythology will find Gabriel's discussions of these Greek tales useful ways to connect classroom lectures and discussion with contemporary issues such as climate change, immigration and border control." --Classical Journal

"This engaging and thoughtful book shows us how the Greek myths remain as relevant today as they did in the days of Homer. It is a timely demonstration that the global challenges we face today are the same as those faced by our ancestors and the stories they told continue to suggest ways we might navigate through society's current difficulties." --Michael Wilson, Professor of Drama, Loughborough University, UK

"Myths and traditional tales - whether spoken, written or sung - were the cultural DNA of the ancient Greeks. Thanks to creative re-interpreters, such as the learned and enlightened Yiannis Gabriel, they can continue to be so for a vastly different contemporary world." --Paul Cartledge, Emeritus A.G. Leventis Professor of Greek Culture, University of Cambridge, UK

About the Author

Yiannis Gabriel is Professor Emeritus of Organizational Theory at the University of Bath, UK, and Visiting Professor at Lund University, Sweden. He is author of Music and Story: A Two-Part Invention (2022), Myths, Stories, and Organizations: Premodern Narratives for Our Times (2004) and Storytelling In Organizations: Facts, Fictions, and Fantasies (2000).