Ancient Epic in Film and Television - Paperback

by Amanda Potter (Editor), Hunter Gardner (Editor)

How do epic tropes shape representations of the ancient world and determine contemporary understandings of historical events? What features of ancient epic persistently emerge in science fiction and fantasy narratives adapted to the screen, and why? How does the different scope of televisual versus cinematic media impact the representation of conventions derived from ancient epic?

The international range of contributors to this volume respond to these questions by looking for features of epic outside the traditional realm of Greco-Roman antiquity, including historical films and series, fantasy, science fiction and documentary. By identifying epic conventions on the large and small screen, as well as within a range of speculative fictions in fantastical and futuristic settings, they consider the function of such conventions within their twenty-first-century production contexts.

Back Jacket

'Gardner and Potter have produced a fascinating collection of essays on epic screen productions that defines the epic genre outside its traditional parameters and covers a wide variety of shows across different decades from the 1980s to 2021.' Antony Augoustakis, Department of the Classics, University of Illinois Examines representations of ancient epic and epic conventions in film and television How do epic tropes shape representations of the ancient world and determine contemporary understandings of historical events? What features of ancient epic persistently emerge in science fiction and fantasy narratives adapted to the screen, and why? How does the different scope of televisual versus cinematic media impact the representation of conventions derived from ancient epic? The international range of contributors to this volume respond to these questions by looking for features of epic outside the traditional realm of Greco-Roman antiquity, including historical films and series, fantasy, science fiction and documentary. By identifying epic conventions on the large and small screen, as well as within a range of speculative fictions in fantastical and futuristic settings, they consider the function of such conventions within their twenty-first-century production contexts. Amanda Potter is a Visiting Fellow at the Open University. Hunter Gardner is Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at the University of South Carolina. Cover image: Game of Thrones (HBO) Season 5, 2015 Episode: The Dance of Dragons Airdate: June 7, 2015 Shown: Emilia Clarke (c) HBO/Photofest Cover design: Stuart Dalziel [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN 978-1-4744-7374-3 Barcode

Author Biography

Amanda Potter is a Visiting Fellow at the Open University, where she was awarded her PhD in 2014 for her thesis on viewer reception of classical myth in Xena: Warrior Princess and Charmed. Her main research interest is public engagement with the ancient world, including audience reception of classics in popular film and television, and creative engagement with classical mythology and ancient history. She has published on a number of television series and films including Xena: Warrior Princess, Charmed, Doctor Who and spinoffs, Wonder Woman, Game of Thrones, HBO's Rome and STARZ Spartacus.

Hunter Gardner is Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at the University of South Carolina. She is the author of Pestilence and the Body Politic in Latin Literature (OUP, 2019). She is co-editor of Nostos: Odyssean Identities in Modern Cultures (Ohio State University Press, 2014), Gendering Time in Augustan Love Elegy (OUP, 2013).