Autism and Classical Myth: Mythology of Hope in Israel and the UK: a PS

Why classical myth and autism?

Why classical myth and autism?

The idea for this project started to take shape at a meeting in 2008 with a special needs teacher, who mentioned that, in her experience and those of her colleagues, autistic children often enjoy classical myth. I began to wonder why this might be the case, and whether – as a classicist who researches, and loves, classical myth – there was anything I could contribute. I started this blog to report on my progress which was often sporadic until the launch of the Warsaw-based European Research Council-funded project Our Mythical Childhood (2016-22) to trace the role of classics in children’s culture.

My key contribution to the project is an exploration of classics in autistic children’s culture, above all by producing myth-themed activities for autistic children. This blog shares my progress, often along Herculean paths, including to a book of lessons for autistic children focusing on the Choice of Hercules between two very different paths in life. The image above, illustrating the homepage of this blog, is one of the drawings by Steve K. Simons, the book's illustrator, of a chimneypiece panel in a neoclassical villa at Roehampton in South West London. The lessons centre on this panel.

Thursday 11 June 2020

Mythology of Hope in Israel and the UK: a PS

As I said yesterday, I was meant to be in Israel just now for this year's Israel Society for the Promotion of Classical Studies conference. Today would have been Day Two.

After I published my posting yesterday about my role in a panel on autism and classical myth, my fellow speaker - also the panel co-ordinator - Lisa Maurice put up a posting about the event on her Vox of Israel blog. Here's the link, to the perfectly titled What should have been...

In the next posting I really will return to Wales as promised yesterday!