A paper by Dr. Kathryn Caliva Smart, assistant professor of History, has been included in a volume of essays on ancient myths and religion published by Brill.

The collection, “Navigating the Study of Myth, Ritual, and Belief: Models from the Ancient Mediterranean to the Present Day," features essays responding to the work of Sarah Iles Johnston, a distinguished scholar of ancient literature, mythology and religion.

Caliva’s contribution to this collection, “Belief and Believability in Bacchylides 17 and 18” argues that two poems by the ancient Greek poet Bacchylides foster belief in the hero Theseus by revealing his power to be both paradigmatic and flexible. Caliva demonstrates how these poems interact with the traditional iterations of the Theseus myth by presenting audiences with mythic narratives that simultaneously reinforce what is known about Theseus and offer new proofs of his power and authority.