Solution: Traditional literary theme or motif - NYT Crossword

This was a sticky wicket, and a debut, for all intents and purposes: The same entry appeared only once before, in 1989, and was clued “Venetian fishing boats,” if that’s a hint. This is from the Greek for “place,” TOPOS, which was sort of academically appropriate in my case because I could not place CERES, the Roman goddess of agriculture at 38A, for the life of me. I had two question marks in her name for the longest time — the “S” where she crossed TOPOS and the “E” in OSHEA Jackson, an entry that younger people probably got right away because of Ice Cube’s son.