Dictionary of Classical Mythology by
Jenny March's acclaimed Dictionary of Classical Mythology, first published in 1998 but long out of print, has been extensively revised and expanded including a completely new set of beautiful line-drawing illustrations for this Oxbow edition. It is a comprehensive A -- Z guide to Greek and Roman mythology. All major myths, legends and fables are here, including gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, dangerous women, legendary creatures and monsters.
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology by
A guide to the legends, themes, and characters of classical mythology also features summaries of epic and dramatic works based on specific Greek or Roman myths.
Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology by
Greek and Roman mythology has fascinated people for thousands of years, and its influence on cultures throughout Europe, America, North Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere attests to the universal appeal of its stories.
Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology examines the best-known figures of Greek and Roman mythology together with the great works of classical literature that are the sources for our mythological understanding. In 365 A-to-Z entries, this encyclopedia presents ancient mythology from a literary perspective and features numerous illustrations from both ancient and modern works of fine art to show how myths have been transmitted in visual form through the ages.
The Gods of Olympus by
The gods of Olympus are the most colorful characters of Greek civilization: even in antiquity, they were said to be cruel, oversexed, mad, or just plain silly. Yet for all their foibles and flaws, they proved to be tough survivors, far outlasting classical Greece itself. In Egypt, the Olympian gods claimed to have given birth to pharaohs. In Rome, they led respectable citizens into orgiastic rituals of drink and sex. Under Christianity and Islam they survived as demons, allegories, and planets; and in the Renaissance, they triumphantly emerged as ambassadors of a new, secular belief in humanity. Their geographic range, too, has been little short of astounding. In their exile, the gods of Olympus have traveled east to the walls of cave temples in China, and west to colonize the Americas. They snuck into Italian cathedrals, haunted Nietzsche, and visited Borges in his restless dreams. Barbara Graziosi traces the wanderings of these protean deities through the millennia. Drawing on a wide range of literary and archaeological sources, The Gods of Olympus opens a new window on the ancient world and its lasting influence.
Greek Myths by
Here retold in all their dramatic power are some of the most exciting and influential of all Greek myths: the epic struggle of the Trojan War, the wanderings of Odysseus, the tragic destiny of Oedipus, and the heroic adventures of Herakles, Theseus, Perseus, and Jason. The author introduces the complex pantheon of Olympian gods and goddesses, describing their attributes, genealogies, and often comic relationships, and illustrates the personalities and their stories by drawing upon the artistry of the ancient culture which created them. A concluding chapter reviews the powerful and continuing imaginative legacy of Greek myth, from Botticelli to Freud.
Roman Myths by
The myths of the Romans are rather different from those of other ancient cultures, such as the Greeks or the Egyptians. Most Roman myths do not consist of stories about the gods and their actions, nor were they presented as fictional, magic stories. Ancient writers such as Livy, Virgil, and Ovid treated myths as history: the history of Rome itself, of its rituals and religious practices, and of important, noble Roman families. Myths were valued as exempla--illustrations of moral truths. Many myths centered around the founding of the city of Rome, such as those of Aeneas, Romulus and Remus, and the (largely imaginary) Seven Kings. Others provided models of virtuous behavior by citizens or added luster to family histories. The protagonists were often male, but sometimes female. Lucretia, who killed herself to expunge the shame of being raped and helped precipitate the founding of the Roman Republic, was a heroine who has exercised a particular fascination on later writers and artists. Still other myths grew up around particular deities (mostly Greek) who were taken into the Roman pantheon at different times or provided "historical" explanations for cult activities or festivals such as Lupercalia.
The Titans and Olympians by
The ancient Greeks and Romans created two of the most incredible and enduring cultures known to humanity. They also created a pantheon of gods and a rich body of mythology that has survived for centuries. Among these powerful myths is the story of Athena, the goddess of battle, who sprang from Zeus's head, and the story of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility, whose worshipers achieved a state of mad ecstasy. These fantastic stories are captured in this volume.
The Iliad by
Along with the Odyssey, Homer's epic poem about the Trojan War is one of the great masterpieces of ancient Greek literature.
The Iliad by
One of the oldest extant works of Western literature, the Iliad is a timeless epic poem of great warriors trapped between their own heroic pride and the arbitrary, often vicious decisions of fate and the gods. Renowned scholar and acclaimed translator Peter Green captures the Iliad in all its surging thunder for a new generation of readers. Featuring an enticingly personal introduction, a detailed synopsis of each book, a wide-ranging glossary, and explanatory notes for the few puzzling in-text items, the book also includes a select bibliography for those who want to learn more about Homer and the Greek epic. This landmark translation--specifically designed, like the oral original, to be read aloud--will soon be required reading for every student of Greek antiquity, and the great traditions of history and literature to which it gave birth.
The Odyssey - Homer, Updated Edition by
The second of the two great epic poems attributed to Homer, The Odyssey takes place after the Trojan War and tells the story of Odysseus’s voyage home to Ithaca and his wife, Penelope. Odysseus’s journey is a perilous one, filled with precarious adventures and strange mythical creatures. Supported by numerous full-length essays, this updated volume offers various critical approaches to exploring this powerful tale of magic and heroism.
The Odyssey by
A new translation of Homer's work of "one-eyed man-eating giants; irresistibly seductive sirens; shipwrecks and narrow escapes; princesses and monsters; ghosts sipping blood at the Underworld's portal, desperate for a chance to speak to the living; and the final destruction of all of Odysseus's enemies in the banquet hall."--Book jacket.
The Poems of Hesiod by
"Besides Homer, there is Hesiod." These words still contain much truth today. Hesiod is a very important poet, and for this reason his two surviving poems, Theogony and Works and Days, deserve to be presented as accurately and attractively as possible. R. M. Frazer has done this: His new translations are faithful to the matter and spirit of the originals, and his commentary makes the poems understandable and enjoyable.
Hesiod is the first Greek and, therefore, the first European we can know as a real person, for, unlike Homer, he tells us about himself in his poems. Hesiod seems to have been a successful farmer and a rather gloomy though not humorless man. One suspects from his concern for the bachelor's lot and some rather unflattering remarks about women that he was never married. A close study of both poems reveals the same personality -that of a deeply religious man concerned with the problems of justice and fate.
The Theogony represents the first codification of the Greek pantheon. Hesiod, of course, did not invent the gods, but he gave the Greeks a clear picture of their forms, functions, and relationships. Thus, the poem deals with the high epic theme of the creation of the divine order of the world under the direction of Zeus. Works and Days, by contrast, considers justice and work in the context of Hesiod's own life. The difference in subject matter produces a difference in style: Theogony is strongly influenced by the epic conventions; Works and Days is more modern and freewheeling.
To get a fuller picture of Hesiod and his poems, we must try to understand him in relation to his times. The eighth century, when Hesiod lived, was the time of the great Greek awakening after the period of relative darkness ushered in by the fall of the old Mycenaean kingdoms around 1125 B.C. Hesiod thus lived at the beginning of the Greek classical period, and his poems influenced not only that age but also Western culture in our day.
