»Lass dich nicht von Morpheus verführen …«

Abstract

Artikelbeginn:[English title and abstract below] In der Antike und den überlieferten antiken Mythen spielen Visionen bzw. Prophezeiungen und Träume – wie sich beispielsweise am Status des Orakels von Delphi als Omphalos (Giebel 2001, S. 7 f.) oder am vom römischen Philosophen Lukrez beschriebenen Beruf des Traumdeuters (Naf 2004, S. 90 f.) erkennen lasst – eine wichtige Rolle und nehmen ebenfalls politischen Einfluss (Trampedach 2015). Es ist daher nicht verwunderlich, dass auch gegenwärtige Mythenadaptionen, allen voran Rick Riordans Percy Jackson-Reihe bzw. mittlerweile korrekter: Reihen, in denen Percy Jackson mitunter als Crossover-Figur auftritt, auf Orakel, Prophezeiungen, Visionen und Träume vermehrt zurückgreifen.   »Don’t Let Morpheus Seduce You ...«Dreams, Oracles and Visions in Contemporary Retellings of Myths Oracles and dreams, which had a prominent position in antiquity, appear in the wake of the success of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series as frequent motifs in retellings of myths in contemporary young adult fantasy. This article examines three examples: Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed trilogy (2011 – 2013), the first volume of Richard Normandon’s eponymous series La conspiration des dieux (2009) and Daniela Ohms’s two-volume Insel der Nyx (2013 – 2014). In these novels, the motifs serve to mirror typical topics of adolescence. Through their prophecies, the oracles circumscribe possible alter-native futures, and the protagonists react by either not complying or trying to prevent fulfilment. To regain self-determination, most of the young protagonists, and at least at one point in the narration, rebel against the predictions. Dreams (including daydreams), on the other hand, allow them to explore different concepts of identities. Oracles and dreams therefore become symbols for the changes that occur during adolescence. In this way, the ancient myths are reduced to a backdrop, making these novels similar to other novels in the genre, which might account (to a certain degree at least) for the current popularity of retellings of ancient myths in young adult novels.