The Narratives of Konon: Text, Translation and Commentary of the Diegeseis

Konon's collection of fifty mythical Narratives (Diegeseis), which he dedicated to King Archelaos Philopatris of Cappadocia (36 B.C.-A.D. 17), is one of the most interesting mythographical works, not least because of the great variety of the material. It has also been one of the most neglected, in part because the work has not survived in its original form but in the summary of Photios, and also in part because it is the sole extant mythographic collection that was not organized around a particular theme, such as the better-known works of Parthenios and Antoninus Liberalis. Each narrative is set in a specific locality. Although several mythical categories are represented, foundation legends (ktiseis) and cult and local aetiologies predominate. Konon records versions of myths that depart from the standard tellings, as well as myths otherwise unattested.This edition, the first published commentary on Konon in over two centuries, provides a text and translation of and commentary on each of the fifty tales, and an overview of mythography and of the myth types favored by Konon.