Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes

The essence of myths is threefold: it is a branch of natural science, trying to explain what humans saw around them. It is also a genre of pure classical literature. Besides, mythology is religion, the deepening realization of what human beings needed in their gods and goddesses. In this light, Edith Hamilton’s Mythology breathes life into the Greek, Roman, and even Norse myths, which are the bedrock of the western civilization – the stories of gods, goddesses, and heroes that have imbued the humankind with multifarious creativity from time immemorial to present. The aim of this book is to produce knowledge of the myths that had been recorded by ancient writers and poets. In fact, the myths as we know now are the creation of great poets, one of which is the Iliad by Homer. Unlike the Egyptian, the Greeks made their gods in their own image and breathed them with their emotions and feelings. It is uncertain how the genesis of the Greek mythology came into being; however the earliest Greek poets arrived at a new point of view which had never been dreamed of in the world before them. It was at this point that mankind regarded itself as the center of the universe, intent upon producing the beauty of human, which was the very consummation of reality. According to Hamilton, what distinguishes Greek mythology from others is it’s foundation on the factual reality. The nonsensical took place in a world, which was essentially rational and matter-of-fact. For example, Hercules always had his abode in the city of Thebes, save when he took of a journey to accomplish his twelve labors; Aphrodite’s birthplace was just offshore from the island of Cynthera; Pegasus’s comfy stable was in Corinth. There was a sense of reality in the mythological world but no place for magic. Mythology is not a tome that requires of modern readers perquisites for scholarly knowledge of academic languages, intellectual superiority, or historical knowledge of the ancient time. It is an anthology of entertaining and inspiring tales of gods, goddesses, nymphs, and mortals who fell out of favor with the divine, written in plain English; it’s like listening to a very well-read story-teller. In Mythology, we meet all from the mercurial gods and goddesses on the Mount Olympus even to Norse gods in Valhalla. We are fascinated with tales of Cupid and Psyche, Odyssey’s Golden Fleece, and forlorn Clytie whose love for Apollo pined away. We will discover that Paris of Troy used to live with a nymph called Oenone before deserting her for Helen of Sparta. Besides, we listen to the legends of constellations of the stars as well as many other references for literature, paintings, and music that have been deeply inspired by Greek mythology. Mythology is the most comprehensive and lucidly accounted tales of mythology based upon Hamilton’s extensive collection of the sources from great ancient poets and writers. Of all other books on mythology of the western civilization I have encountered, this book is by far the most excellent in providing readers with both entertainment and knowledge without academically esoteric approach or literary pompousness. Mythology succeeds in offering education and appreciation of art that has been passed down to our present time for thousands of years. For this reason, Mythology by Edith Hamilton is a touchstone for books on mythology.

A readable, delightful, yet thought-provoking and comprehensive book of Greek and Roman mythology. Although published in 1942, the style still seems modern and pleasant. The author gives each story a very short introduction, wherein she explains which Greek or Roman poet she followed for her version, and why. The index is amazing for its accuracy and completeness; it even gives brief myths that the author didn't fit into the main text. My only complaint about this book would be that reprints and resettings over the years have introduced a few typos (clearly not present in the original). In my well-worn 2011 paperback, I've spotted these: - p.317, the name "Eumaeus" is mis-spelled "Eurnaeus" - p.351, "I tried to life up my hands" should be "I tried to lift up my hands" - p.427, the story title "AURORA AND TITHONUS" is missing; thus running-together two unrelated stories.

A book well taken care of

I picked this up as a travel read since It was lightweight, inexpensive & knew most of stories. For these reasons I knew I wouldn't be heartbroken if I accidentally left it on a train or in a rental. Often readers will skip an authors "forward " at the beginning of a book, in this case advise you actually read it. The author expand how she lasts or the chapters taking knowledge and from writings dating from different sources and centuries and based on the side may refer to characters with either Latin OR a Greek names. There are a few omissions in my opinion and several stories over simplified, but all in all is a lovely little primer that read like a collection of fairy tales, which I believe is how it is intended. Would recommend a light reading, but not as an authoritative guide.

Amazing. Little dark but that is real non child censored mythology for you.

Although it's difficult to give an accurate review of such a large book with so many different stories, overall Edith Hamilton's Mythology deserves five stars. For a discussion on the myths within this book, please skip down to the capitalized section. The effort put into this book is tremendous. It is quite obvious by her writing the Ms. Hamilton has dedicated plenty of time to this work. Although not all works which have been worked on for so long are necessarily successul, this one is. The book mainly covers Greek and Roman mythology, with a small section of Norse mythology at the end. As there are at least two different names for each god and goddess due to the difference between the Greek and Roman myths, the stories can get a bit confusing. Yet Ms. Hamilton does her best to aid us in understanding. The work begins with an introduction to mythology section which describes certain gods and goddesses, as well as the history of mythology. As stated, these parts may be confusing since there are usually a Roman and Greek name for each important figure. THE STORIES THEMSELVES. The myths themselves are told excellently by Hamilton. She offers views from many different sources, often choosing the best source for each story (or each particular part of a story). As myths differ from writer to writer, you may find that the version of one myth is different from the version Hamilton tells. This is expected. However, Ms. Hamilton does an excellent job telling the myths as best she can, especially considering the amount of myths she tells in the book. The only complaint I have of this book is the fact that some myths that I consider important only receive a few pages in the book, while less important myths (in my opinion) have several pages dedicated to them. Another example of this is the presence of such myths that I thought were important in the 'less important myths' section. Overall, this is a good overview of mythology and is definitely recommended. If you are planning a trip to Greece anytime, I suggest picking this up as it will help explain the significance of many places within Greece that you may end up visiting.

The content of the book itself is great and very captivating. 5/5 book in this regard. The reason I am rating this product a 2 though is due to a binding issue. For the past two weeks the pages have grown weak and unattached themselves from the cover. I suspect it is as a result of me sometimes folding one side of the book all the way while reading the other (to paint an image in your head, think of it as if I were holding and reading a stone tablet or ancient scroll), however, I have done this same thing with ALL other paperback books I own that are capable of folding their pages all the way and have never had this issue so it did not occur to me it could damage the book. Still, this book is so good and I want it complete that I plan in the future on buying the hardcover to have an undamaged copy but man what an inconvenience. (just changed it to 3 because the book is actually good lol).

Couldn't find this book at other stores, nice price right here.

Loved it so much

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Very easy to read and very entertaining as well as informative.

Excelente libro

This is a book that was recommended to me by a college professor of mine. It was used as a reading in his course, and was a genuinely fascinating read. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning more about Mythology as a whole.