The main theme of the confrontation of man with personified divisions/fractions of time unfolds in different narrative traditions of Greek and other Balkan peoples. This paper discusses the tale of “The two old women and the twelve months”, which is considered a Greek oikotype, taking into account related versions as well as relevant customs and beliefs from other Balkan peoples. This investigation is based on published and unpublished versions from the Catalogue of the Greek Folktale as well as on recently collected material. In these stories, time is perceived according to the main events of rural life, especially sowing-time, harvesting and the folk calendar. This paper also examines a peculiar episode in the meeting of the tale-hero with an old woman or man who controls day and night by folding two skeins, one black and the other white.
The Treatment of Time in the Oral Tradition of Greek and other Balkan Peoples
23 Aug 2012
by Archaeology Newsroom
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