Synopses & Reviews
Featuring the authors' extensive, clear, and faithful translations of original sources,
Classical Mythology, Seventh Edition, retells the myths and legends of Greece and Rome in a lucid and engaging style. Building on the best-selling tradition of previous editions, it incorporates a dynamic combination of poetic narratives and enlightening commentary to make classical myths come alive for students. The discussion covers comparative and interpretative approaches as well as evidence from art and archaeology. The authors also examine the enduring survival of classical mythology in the fields of art, literature, music, dance, and film.
Classical Mythology, Seventh Edition, enables students to explore the fascinating nature of Greek and Roman gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines and to appreciate the most significant ancient sources of classical legends and myths. The text is beautifully enhanced by 180 illustrations, in both color and black and white.
Classical Mythology, Seventh Edition features:
* More extensive translations of works by the ancient authors: Selections by Greek authors include all thirty-three Homeric Hymns; the important passages in Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days; and excerpts from Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Plato, Lucian, Pindar, the Pre-Socratic philosophers, and the Lyric poets. Works by Latin authors including Ovid, Vergil, Statius, Manilius, and Seneca are also provided.
* An expanded art program: Sixty-six new illustrations--selected from both the ancient and the modern world--appear throughout the text and are accompanied by substantial and informative captions. Three new maps are also included.
* Text boxes--incorporated for the first time--explore a variety of new topics and highlight interpretative approaches.
* A selected bibliography is included for each chapter.
* More explanatory material is integrated throughout, including a "Glossary of Mythological Words and Phrases in English."
* Companion website: www.classicalmythology.org includes chapter-by-chapter summaries, suggested activities, maps, practice test questions, and PowerPoint lecture slides. The website has been revised to enhance the multifaceted subjects treated in the text and to provide links to numerous helpful resources.
Synopsis
Building on the best-selling tradition of previous editions,
Classical Mythology, Eighth Edition, is the most comprehensive survey of classical mythology available in one volume. Featuring the authors' clear and extensive translations of original sources, it brings to life the myths and legends of Greece and Rome in a lucid and engaging style. The text contains a wide variety of faithfully translated passages from Greek and Latin sources, including Homer, Hesiod, all the Homeric Hymns, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Plato, Lucian, Lucretius, Vergil, Ovid, and Seneca. The authors incorporate a dynamic combination of poetic narratives and enlightening commentary to make the myths come alive for students. Offering historical and cultural background on the myths--including evidence from art and archaeology--they also provide ample interpretative material and examine the enduring survival of classical mythology and its influence in the fields of art, literature, music, dance, and film.
Classical Mythology, Eighth Edition, enables students to explore the fascinating nature of Greek and Roman gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines, and to appreciate the most significant ancient sources of classical myths and legends. The book is beautifully enhanced by 22 color plates and 160 black and white illustrations with lucid explanatory captions, as well as maps, a glossary, a companion website, and an instructor's manual.
Classical Mythology, Eighth Edition, has been updated and revised to reflect recent scholarship, featuring:
* The most recent results of excavations at Troy and Orestes
* Expanded discussions of Asclepius, Antigone, and Orestes
* Many new text boxes including those on Homer, Hesiod, and the worship of Artemis at Brauron
* A new chapter (25) on Ovid's treatment of classical mythology
* Incorporation of local legends--for example, the myth of Bellerophon--in relevant myths and sagas (these legends, located in the former Chapter 25 in the previous edition, have now been distributed throughout the book where they best fit)
* An improved art program, with new images, better-quality reproductions, and improved maps
* Numbering of lines for all translations, for easy reference
* Improved indexes and updated bibliographies
* An improved and updated companion website, including images and maps
* An instructor's manual and test bank (available for the first time)
Table of Contents
PART ONE. THE MYTHS OF CREATION: THE GODS
1. Interpretation and Definition of Classical Mythology
Appendix to Chapter 1: Sources for Classical Mythology
2. Historical Background of Greek Mythology
3. Myths of Creation
4. Zeus' Rise to Power: The Creation of Mortals
Additional Reading: Parallels in Myths of Greece and the Ancient Near East
5. The Twelve Olympians: Zeus, Hera, and Their Children
6. The Nature of the Gods
7. Poseidon, Sea Deities, Group Divinities, and Monsters
8. Athena
9. Aphrodite and Eros
10. Artemis
Additional Reading: Selections from Euripides' Hippolytus
11. Apollo
Additional Reading: The Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollo
12. Hermes
13. Dionysus, Pan, Echo, and Narcissus
14. Demeter and the Eleusinian Mysteries
15. Views of the Afterlife: The Realm of Hades
16. Orpheus and Orphism: Mystery Religions in Roman Times
PART TWO. THE GREEK SAGAS: GREEK LOCAL LEGENDS
Introduction
17. The Theban Saga
18. The Mycenaean Saga
Additional Reading: Orestes and the Three Electras
19. The Trojan Saga and the Iliad
Appendix to Chapter 19: Meleager and the Calydonian Boar Hunt
20. The Returns and the Odyssey
21. Perseus and the Legends of Argos
Appendix to Chapter 21: Bellerophon
22. Heracles
23. Theseus and the Legends of Attica
24. Jason, Medea, and the Argonauts
Additional Reading: Jason and Medea in Euripides
25. Greek and Roman Legends in Ovid's Poetry
PART THREE. THE NATURE OF ROMAN MYTHOLOGY
26. Roman Mythology and Saga
PART FOUR. THE SURVIVAL OF CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY
27. Classical Mythology in Literature and Art
28. Classical Mythology in Music, Dance, and Film