Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, 75th Anniversary Illustrated Edition

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Greatly he failed, but he had greatly dared. And how Edith Hamilton tells Phaëthon’s story is just as engrossing. So, I thought I'd throw in these words about this quite wonderful book, most of which I've never read in the decades that I've owned it (basically having used it as a reference book). Pindar in the early fifth century tells the tale about the feast Tantalus made the gods and protests that it is not true. The punishment of Tantalus is described often, first in the Odyssey, from which I have taken it. Amphion's story, and Niobe's, I have taken from Ovid, who alone tells them in full. For Pelops winning the chariot race I have preferred Apollodorus, of the first or second century A.D., who gives the fullest account that has come down. The story of Atreus' and Thyestes' crimes and all that followed is taken from Aeschylus' Oresteia. I was also amazed how listening to this audiobook gave me insight to how the physical book would be organised - later looking at its Kindle samples* I was impressed – and (also to my delight) noticed the book includes illustrations, and so now I’ve added it to my list to buy in the future. I don't really mind if she disses Hercules, but her gratuitous dissing of my boy Ovid really didn't win her any points.

What I do like is how Edith Hamilton tells these tales. One of my favourites here is Cupid and Psyche. It starts with: Edith Hamilton's Mythology succeeds like no other book in bringing to life for the modern reader the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths that are the keystone of Western culture--the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present.What I’m not sure about is if I would have found this easy to read when I knew a very tiny amount about Greek and Roman Mythology and Norse Mythology. Though the explanations are clear, I found I got more from this this time as I am more receptive now to the chapters that have more of an encyclopaedic feel. This is not the fault of the book, it’s just the way these myths are, where there are loads of them that are not connected to a myth that is part of bigger story, for example one of the families like the House of Thebes. A little naive maybe, however, given this and the irrevocably atrocious acts of each and every member of the Greek Pantheon, I suggest that there are, in fact, no Gods in Greek Mythology, only reflections of vastly more powerful versions of ourselves, unmasking and exposing all of our most unfavourable attributes. Physically, the Olympians are objectively perfect. I mean this in the sense that whatever your subjective idea of beauty is, that is the form in which the Gods should appear to you. In any case, their beauty, strength and vigour are unmatched but, these things aside, their personalities, temperament and moral compass’ leave much to be desired. The Olympians are unpredictable, unfaithful and consequently jealous, sex fiends. They are self-serving, scheming, apathetic and scornful, and have a major superiority complex! And although each chapter starts with a reference, every now and then I got the sense there were parts missing, like the ending of the story of Arachne, where Edith Hamilton has a happy ending showing Athena regreting her anger to Arachne, but my 3 translations of Ovid’s Metamorphosis shows her wrath is not appeased as she also curses her family.

I have this now on Kindle, I come across this book constantly referenced in other books, so got my own copy. Norse Section, I love the little bits of Norse Mythology we get here, but unfortunately provided very little, that it feels like an afterthought. I knew that before purchasing it but still somewhat a shame, that there are never revised versions that included much more Norse Mythology.

Now having said that, I have to note the caveat that this is not a scholarly work. This is a summary, a boiling-down, a sugar-coating of a topic that frankly could have been presented in a much more academic, dry manner. I'm glad it wasn't. These are not cursory run-throughs. They're full of detail and color. Anyways, mythology is always something I was interested in and loved, it's in so much of our everyday life still in the stories we tell and our history. I know most of my real life friends read this in the 10th grade, but my class read The Odyssey only and I've always meant to get to this book but didn't until now.

One thing became clear to me as I read these books. Although the myths remain unchanged, the way that we think about them has evolved considerably over the last 150 years. This is one reason why the bowdlerized myths presented to us by Bulfinch, in which each story is rendered moribund by being stripped of all reference to sex, violence, or any hint of unpleasantness, are so unsatisfactory to a 21st century reader. I really liked how Edith Hamilton starts her book with a detailed intro to Greek and Roman myths and talking about some of the ancient writers before telling the creation myth, which covers the breakdown of the gods, leading to the heroic and moral stories including Prometheus, Madea and the Trojan heroes. I also like how it slips in some Norse mythology at the end. I believe, deep in my heart, that everyone who has attended high school in the past twenty to thirty years or so (in the United States, at least) owned a ratty, most likely used copy of this work at one time or another. This book has been on the required reading list of so many schools that nearly everyone has seen it, owned it, and opened it at least twice. Fellow Demi-Gods, heed my words! If I speak falsely, may Zeus’ thunderbolt strike me down where I stand! May Poseidon thrust upon me an irrational desire to undertake coital alignment with a bovine beauty (a horny heifer/arousable angus/titillated toro, if you'd be so kind)! May I dream a most splendid dream in which my lips meet those of the blessed Aphrodite herself, only to awaken and find, in horror, that I am merely tongue-wrestling the three heads of Cerberus! Alas! None of that should be necessary, as I think you’ll find what I have to say most agreeable. I like how Edith Hamilton represents the gods, she’s clearly not a fan of most of them, also her explanation of the Eleusinian Mysteries is the clearest I have come across so far.Hm. I declared August "History Month" and read, amongst various others, Bulfinch's Mythology of which I was quite disappointed. In my research of his work and how it came to be I found a reference to this book by Edith Hamilton, who superseded Mr. Bulfinch in most classrooms. Thus I read this book in an attempt to find a better written encyclopedia. Unfortunately, I did not succeed. Significant families in Greek mythology: the house of Atreus, the royal house of Thebes, and the royal house of Athens

How can you have any pudding, if you don’t eat your kids?” I mean, you can’t fault the logic, dessert’s delicious but not nearly as nutritious as human flesh. Cronus (Saturn), father of Zeus, learned from Gaia and Uranus that one of his own children would overthrow him as he did his own father. So, he devoured them all as soon as they were born to prevent the prophecy, as you would. Anyway, Zeus escaped the same fate as his siblings for… reasons, the prophecy was fulfilled, the kids were regurgitated etc. etc. This is a tough review, just because this isn’t really a novel. It’s more a collection of stories within the framework of certain mythologies (but for the sake of this review, let’s call it a novel). This is an ambitious work, which Edith Hamilton brings to life Greek and Roman Mythology (mainly and Norse partly), being a keystone of Western Culture. Reading this you get to understand the culture of the Greeks, what they believed in and the values of these stories. The beginning starts with a great essay describing the impact of these mythologies and then talks about major Gods before telling us the stories. Firstly, this is more of a collection of very compact retellings of stories from these myths. Secondly, it begins with a brief commentary talking about the sources, her views, and some interesting observations then the retelling occurs and within retelling, there will be some commentary but mostly that story, which this cycle repeats quite often. This might sound a bit tedious but when you’re reading it, honestly the model just works. The commentary I felt was very insightful to understand the Greek's perspective of these stories and just some interesting observations, overall. Aside from the fact that I am probably just too dumb and too uncultured to truly enjoy this thing to it's full capacity...I'm also not a pretentious asshole who is going to pretend I lurved it to pieces just to look smart. (And no, I am not suggesting anyone who says they love this is a liar. One of my BBF GR buds Ana O really does love this. But she's also way smarter and more interesting than me, so there's that).The terrifying irrational has no place in classical mythology. Magic ... is almost nonexistent. Ghosts never appear on earth in any Greek story." Edith Hamilton may have written Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes more than a half century ago and she may have been fairly ancient when she did so, but she still put out one seriously readable book! Most wanted for crimes against humanity are Aphrodite, Hera, Athena, Poseidon and Apollo. Nevertheless, none of the Olympians could be considered Angels and they’ve all got blood on their hands by the closing of this book. I was a history major in college, so this was fascinating to me. I get that it's not for everyone, but if you want to learn more about mythology in general, this is the book for you.