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Title: The Greek Myths by Robert Graves ISBN: 0-14-017199-1 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: April, 1993 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (22 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Standard Reference
Comment: Many of us had to suffer through some rehashing of classical mythology when we were in high school, as often as not Edith Hamilton's book "Mythology." While having the stories re-told to us when we were young is a part of a literary education (a dwindling part, sorry to say), sooner or later you have to graduate to a more authoritative retelling of the myths, to use as a reference and a doorway into other disciplines, such as anthropology.
Graves' book fills that gap. He provides sources for all of the myths he tells, and gives variant readings. He also retells what the classical authors had to say about the myths, and gives a wealth of etymological information about the myths as well, which given that Graves was a formidable classical scholar is saying quite a lot.
The only reason I'm not giving this book five stars is because like a great deal of Graves' anthropological commentary in his various books, what he has to say is out of date. I suppose that this was inevitable with the passage of time, but on the whole this does not detract from the literary effort. Graves is still the only classical mythology reference on my bookshelf.
Rating: 5
Summary: An Exhaustive Text For Advanced Students of Greek Mythology
Comment: Robert Graves' THE GREEK MYTHS falls between the Victorian bombast of Bulfinch and the popular style of Edith Hamilton, less stylistically intimidating than the former and more scholarly than the latter. Originally published as a two volume set in 1955 with author revisions in 1957 and 1960, this single volume text does not abridge the original text but merely confines it to a single binding.
One's reaction to THE GREEK MYTHS will depend to some extent on one's purpose in acquiring it. This is an exhaustive collection of Greek mythology that far outstrips any other modern anthology that I have encountered, including myths both better known and extremely obscure. Each myth is presented in concise, graceful prose, and where possible Graves includes genealogies of the characters and major variations of each myth; an interpretive essay also follows each myth.
While Graves' retelling of the myths themselves have been widely praised, his interpretations of the myths have been somewhat criticized--and justly so. Graves tends to see incarnations of the "White Goddess" and the "Sacrificial King" in every third story; more dangerously, he tends to tie the myths to historical events in a highly speculative way. While this does not undercut the interest of his interpretations, it does hold a number of traps for the casual reader, who may assume that Graves' essays offer standard, scholastically unbiased interpretations based on proven historical events.
For myself, I use Graves' THE GREEK MYTHS as both reference and pleasure-reading, and I enjoy it a great deal; it is an indispensable purchase for any one with a serious interest in Greek mythology for any one who must frequently reference the same for scholarly purposes, and I strongly recommend it to them. At the same time, however, I would hesitate to recommend it to readers who have not previously been exposed to Greek mythology or who wish only a general knowledge of the major Greek myths; in such cases I would instead recommend Edith Hamilton's MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS AND HEROES.
Rating: 5
Summary: Insightful Reevaluation of Greek Mythology
Comment: Robert Graves' "Greek Myths" is an innovative review of Greek Mythology. The book provides compiled summaries for each main Greek hero and deity. Graves then provides his own evaluation as to the anthropological origins of the myths in the context of early Greek civilization. His focus is primarily on Minoan and pre-Mycenean civilizations.
Through etymology and historical analysis, Graves contends that Greek mythology is a compilation of two distinct religious practices that were later merged. Graves argues that cults for female godesses such Hera, Diane, Athena, Hecate, etc., were the product of early Greek matriarchal/amazonian societies. Graves argues that myths such as the castration of Kronos and the labors of Herakles refer to the practice of mock-kings who were used for ceremony in fertility rituals. Such mock-kings, Graves recites, were sacrificed at the end of the ritual by the Amazon Queen. Graves suggests that the traditional patriarchal triad of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon was introduced later when the Myceneans invaded Greece and conquered these matriarchies.
(...)Overall, the book offers a direction of study that would be useful in corroborating a facinating theory about societies in Ancient Greece and how their evolution was presented through mythology. Unfortunately, as is usual with virtually an myth, the reason events usually become mythical is because there were few hard facts left behind to corroborate the truth that lies behind them.
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Title: Greek Gods and Heroes by Robert Graves ISBN: 0440932211 Publisher: Laure Leaf Pub. Date: 15 October, 1965 List Price(USD): $5.50 |
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Title: The Dictionary of Classical Mythology by John Edward Zimmerman ISBN: 0553257765 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 June, 1983 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin ISBN: 0553259202 Publisher: Bantam Books for Young Readers Pub. Date: 01 September, 1984 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Mythology : Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton ISBN: 0446607258 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Mythology by Edith Hamilton ISBN: 0316341517 Publisher: Back Bay Books Pub. Date: 14 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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