Original Sources
The best thing you can do if you want to learn more is to actually read the myths in their original contexts. The following is a list of books and links to help you do just that. I have noted the best translations where possible.
Everything in this list is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Theoi Greek Mythology: Exploring Mythology & the Greek Gods in Classical Literature & Art, by Aaron Atsma.
- Fills his encyclopedia of ancient characters with collections of quotations from original sources.
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Perseus Project, by Tufts University.
- An incredible collection of hundreds of Classical texts and their translations by noted scholars.
- Harris, Stephen L. and Gloria Platzer. Classical Mythology: Images and Insights. 4th edition; New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2003
- Okay, this is actually a complete textbook, but it has 700 pages of original sources, so it's worth the investment.
- Lefkowitz, Mary and Maureen Fant. Women's Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation. Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005
- You're at this site because of the women, right? Well here's the best way possible to understand them better: reading quotations about women from original sources (with commentary, of course).
- Euripides. Ten Plays Trans. Moses Hadas. USA: Bantam, 1983
- Of course, all the plays of the great playwrights are worth reading, but Euripides does fascinating things with gender and sexuality.
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The Homeric Hymns. Trans. Apostolos N. Athanassakis. Maryland: John Hopkins University Press, 1976
- The Homeric Hymns are a fantastic way to begin reading the ancient myths. Beautiful and totally comprehensive.
- Ovid. Metamorphoses. Trans. Charles Martin. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005
- An award winning translation of one of the coolest ancient collections of myth.
- Homer. The Iliad. Trans. W. H. D. Rouse. New York: Mentor Books, 1938
- Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. W. H. D. Rouse. New York: Mentor Books, 1937
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Apollodorus' Library and Hyginus' Fabulae: Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology. Trans. R. Scott Smith & Stephen M. Trzaskoma. Hackett Pub Co Inc, 2007
- Apollonius. Jason and the Golden Fleece. Trans. Richard Hunter. USA: Oxford University Press, 1998
- Hesiod. Theogony, Works and Days. Trans. M. L. West. USA: Oxford University Press, 1999
Books and Links for Kids
There's a lot of great introductions to Greek mythology. Here's a couple of them to grow on!
- Classical Mythology
- Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch's Mythology. Ed. Richard P. Martin. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991
- D'Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar Parin. D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths. New York: Doubleday, 1962
- Illustrations on every page, there's a reason this book is still in print. I grew up on it and I love it.
- Evslin, Bernard and Dorothy and Ned Hoopes. The Greek Gods. New York: Scholastic Inc, 1966
- Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. Boston: Mentor Books, 1953
- Kravitz, David. Who's Who in Greek and Roman Mythology. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1975
- Osborn, Kevin and Dana L. Burgess. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology. New York: Alpha Books, 1998
- Not just for kids, but totally digestable. VERY informative. I HIGHLY recommend.
Secondary Sources I Have Used
I've been making this site since 1996, so some of the links I used have expired. But the books I use are still available. I make note of my favorites. Books
- Bell, Robert E. Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991
- Much of the info, the good info anyway, on this site comes from this book. I love it. Love, love, love. He's got a sense of humor, too.
- Blundell, Sue. Women in Ancient Greece. Harvard University Press: 1995.
- Read in college and it's GREAT. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
- Downing, Christine. The Goddess: Mythological Images of the Feminine. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1984
- More about today's interpretations of the goddess, it's one I grew up reading and part of why I love Greek goddesses!
- Harris, Stephen L. and Gloria Platzer. Classical Mythology: Images and Insights. 4th edition; New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2003
- If you have only one myth book on your shelf, this is the one you should own. It has everything. It is well-researched. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
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Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore Mythology and Legend Ed. Maria Leach. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1949
- Great book, but way more than just Greek. Lots of value, even though its seriously old school (and problematic).
- Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. England: Penguin Books, 1992
- Pretty much discredited as an actual resource by academics (and, now, me), his exploration of Greek myths is fascinating and big on women, mysticism, and fraught with suggestions of a matriarchal prehistory.
- Guerber, H. A. Greece and Rome: Myths and Legend. London: Bracken Books, 1986
- Kerenyi, Carl. Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1967
- One day, when I write books, I want them to be like this. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
- Lefkowitz, Mary R. Women in Greek Myth. Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007
- I hadn't read this when I started the site, but I wish I had. A very interesting argument about the role of women as portrayed through interpretations of various myths. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
- * Mackenzie, Donald A. Crete and Pre-Hellenic Europe. London: Senate, 1995
- Ormand, Kirk. Controlling Desires: Sexuality in Ancient Greece and Rome. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2008.
- HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!! This book is great for beginners and experts. It is SUPER readable without lots of notes or citations, but helps you understand the subject at a truly advanced level. And let me tell you, this is a juicy juicy topic that will also help you speak intelligently about sexuality today! Also, I reviewed it in my blog. (Full
disclosure: He was my professor.)
- Osborn, Kevin and Dana L. Burgess. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology. New York: Alpha Books, 1998
- Not just for idiots, but totally digestable. VERY informative. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
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Oxford Classical Dictionary: Second Edition. ed. N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard. London: Oxford University Press, 1970
- Penglase, Charles. Greek Myths and Mesopotamia: Parallels and Influence in the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod. New York: Routledge, 1997
- Pomeroy, Sarah et al. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History. USA: Oxford University Press, 2007.
- A balanced and complete overview of ancient Greece. Read it in college. If you want history, start here.
- Pomeroy, Sarah. Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. Schoken: 1995
- Not just myth, but still fantastic. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
- Sissa, Giulia and Marcel Detienne. The Daily Life of the Greek Gods. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2000
- Tyrrell, Wm. Blake. Amazons: A Study in Athenian Mythmaking. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984
Links
- A collection of essays - not for the faint of heart! HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
- This site inspired me to make my own. I am sad that it is gone. All the sites that are crossed out have disappeared from the connection of tubes we call teh interwebs, but I may have gotten information from them before they did. Obviously, these days, I try to verify all my info in original sources, but I've been at this a long time.
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Last Updated July 29, 2009
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