The Greeks and Romans had a lot to say about their myths. More of it should be accessible online.
Canopos is a repository for peer-reviewed translations of mythographic texts
it is an experiment in collaborative scholarship and lightweight publication methods
Anonymous, On Unbelievable Stories
A mythographic miscellany dating from after the 5th century AD, containing rationalizing and allegorical material.
Translation by Greta Hawes
Also available on Scaife Viewer
This translation first appeared in Greta Hawes, Rationalizing myth in antiquity (OUP, 2014) pp. 239-48. It is reproduced here under the author’s reuse policy.
Mythographical Narratives (historiai) in the D scholia to the Iliad
A mythographic commentary transmitted with the text of Homer’s Iliad.
Translation by Kennis Barker, Jacob Compagna, Don Bart Doyle, Joseph Laufer, Allina Podgurski, Christian Rhoads, Camden Roy, Melina Ryan, R. Scott Smith, and Aristogeneia Toumpas; with an Introduction by R. Scott Smith.
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This translation and introduction to the text was made available in 2023 under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC-BY). Sharing and remixing permitted according to the terms of the license.
Heracleitos, On Unbelievable Stories
A collection of 39 rationalizing and allegorical treatments of individual myths, dating to the late 1st or 2nd centuries AD
Translation by Billie Hall, Greta Hawes, Tate Jenetsky, Rosemary Selth, and Aaron Wallis
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Also available on Scaife Viewer, and Topostext
This translation was made available in 2021 under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC-BY). Sharing and remixing permitted according to the terms of the license.
Palaiphatos, On Unbelievable Stories
A methodological description of mythic rationalization and 46 examples of the technique applied to individual myths, dating probably to the 340s or 330s BC
Translation by Hugo Branley, Billie Hall, Greta Hawes, Tate Jenetsky, Liam Maldoni, Daniel Prestipino, and Rosemary Selth
Also available on Scaife Viewer
Read more here
This translation was made available in 2021 under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC-BY). Sharing and remixing permitted according to the terms of the license.
Ps-Plutarch, On the Naming of Rivers and Mountains
A work of creative mythography which purports to explain how rivers and mountains got their names, and describes the miraculous stones and plants found in and on them. Dates probably to the 2nd century AD
Translation by Greta Hawes, Sonia Pertsinidis, and Charles Delattre
Also available on Scaife Viewer
This translation was made available in 2022 under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC-BY). Sharing and remixing permitted according to the terms of the license.
Canopos is directed by Greta Hawes
We gratefully acknowledge the Center for Hellenic Studies, Perseus, and Topostext in providing digital support and assistance for this project.
All translations undergo anonymous peer review.
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