What do You think about The Greek Myths (1993)?
The Folio Society published this rather splendid two volume book of The Greek Myths by Robert Graves in 1996. I purchased it then but I basically only looked at it from time to time when I wanted to know about certain myths or gods, and thus there was always something that I could look up which would give me pleasure.This is not a book for the faint-hearted as, well to me anyway, it is an excellent reference book that I will pick up from time to time and browse through it or look for further information. I don’t think that I could actually have sat down and read this from cover to cover as there is too much factual information and some of the names can be quite confusing.Also there were certain facts that I had in my head that I certainly proved to be wrong here. Little things I know but I always thought that it was Pandora’s box and not the jar and I had never even heard of The Sprites until I arrived at this part of the book. Also the Minotaur, well my own interpretation of that was completely wrong.But when you think about the Greek Myths, it wasn’t until I went through this introduction that I found out the following:The Romans, who annexed Greece in the second century BC, modified the Olympian religion to include their own local gods and practices, but otherwise simply took Greek stories over lock, stock and barrel. Sometimes names were changed (as when Aphrodite became Venus or Odysseus Ulysses); sometimes they were actually spelled differently (as when Asclepius became Aesculapius); sometimes no changes at all were made, so that stories with a particular Green location (such as the spring of Hippocrene near Thebes, created when the winged horse Pegasus stamped his hoof on a rock) were accepted quite happily by people who had never otherwise heard of, or seen, the originals.”So really all one can do about this rather complicated book as I’ve done is to concentrate on for example, Pandora, as she fascinates me, to begin with and find out who she’s related to (which in itself is like being on an odyssey) and working out from there as if I were a spider on the web awaiting my next “kill”.The Greek God Hermes (Mercury to the Romans and the son of Zeus), I have a particular fondness for. Many years ago I was in a garden centre in England and I saw this lovely little bronze statue of Mercury. I paid a lot more for it than I should have done but I knew that a pay cheque was around the corner and now it sits in my lounge. Perhaps it should be in the garden but I like to be reminded of it. So Mercury, sorry Hermes, I stand corrected. Strange really but Hermes is one of my favourite perfumes.My only fault with this book lies with the two volumes, the index is at the end of the second one which is fair enough but it is still annoying when searching for an individual and then finding that it spans the two books.This is a delightful book and will give me pleasure for many years. So try it, if you haven’t already. You may like it.
—Lynne King
Robert Graves “The Greek Myths” is a wonderful resource for learning about the myths of ancient Greece. Originally published in 1955, it was updated for the last time in 1960. There are two volumes, but they are often available in a single book, which makes it easier for the reader to handle. Graves does a wonderful job of making the myths easy to read and understand, and discusses the variations which often occurred in the myths. His interpretation of the myths is a bit subjective, so the reader needs to treat that aspect as such.The volumes can be used in different ways. One of the more useful ways is as a reference for learning about references to Greek Mythology. The table of contents provides 171 different myth titles to choose from, but if that doesn’t help you find a particular reference, the index at the end of the second volume will help you locate the relevant myths that touch upon a particular name or subject.A second way to use the book is to simply browse until you find a myth that interests you and spend some time reading about it and its variations. Each myth is explained in clear English and divided into paragraphs relating to each of the ancient Greek works which mention the myths. These ancient references are then listed which easily provides the reader the information they need to do further investigation. Lastly, additional notes are included which help to better understand the myths and put them into an historical perspective, though again this is not necessarily factual as much as it is supposition on the part of Graves. Another way to use this book is to simply read it to gain an overall understanding of Greek myths. I would say this book doesn’t work as well in this way as it does in the prior ways. The myths are intentionally split apart to better focus on the individual parts and so it doesn’t flow. In addition, many of the myths have multiple versions and Graves discusses many of these variations which also interfere with treating this book like a story book. In addition the links to references and the material added to better understand the myths which are so useful for treating this as a reference, definitely get in the way of telling the story. All that being said, you can still use the book in this way, it is just not the optimum format and there may be better books out there for this purpose.I have found this book to be very useful over the years. It is very helpful when doing research, but also good for a diversion when one wants to look at one particular myth. Some may not care for Graves personal input on the myths, but I think it is a useful perspective even if one doesn’t agree with his conclusions. Though not perfect, this book still rates five stars in my opinion.
—Dave
1.Kodansya English Library2.5/11 = 60 minutes3. 7 words summary: Chaos - Night - Gaia - Uranus - make - nature - monstrous4.Q: Do you believe that gods are exist? Why or Why not?A: I believe that gods are exist because sometimes things go well or bad. Also I and my family go to the shurine in the New Year's Day and pray something to the gods.5. Reading this book is so interesting! There are some mysterious stories!2.5/17 = 45 minutes, 5/20 = 20 minutes3. 7 words summary: Prometheus - Zeus - fire - goshawk - liver - brother - Pandora4. Q: Have you ever been deceived by appearance? How?A: Yes, I have. When I saw the cake, I thought it was good, but I was not good at whippeed cram. 5.When I read the story of Prometheus and Pandora, I thought that if I was Epimetheus, I did not get the gift from Zeus. I am a person who is suspicious.
—Erika Maruo
