The Greek myths

Product Information

Near fine copies in the original quarter gilt-blocked cloth over illustrated paper-covered boards in slipcase. Most of the rapes of early Greek myth can be explained by the invading Hellenes conquering goddess shrines, according to Graves.

This volume is translated by John Dryden, introduced by Peter Levi, and illustrated by Francis Cleyn. If you want to know your Greek mythology but don’t feel like learning ancient languages and reading all Classical writings, this is your next best thing to go to. It includes all the most iconic stories, drawing on Plutarch, Virgil, Livy and Ovid amongst others, but also lesser-known traditions, including some of the more bizarre Roman superstitions, such as the Lupercalia in which youths dressed in animal skins and smeared with dog blood would whip female onlookers with strips of goatskin to promote fertility. This is one of the gems I discovered, and purchased for a pittance, during my professional college days (1980-85). Some of the technologies we use are necessary for critical functions like security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and to make the site work correctly for browsing and transactions.Although Graves makes use of folkloric, ethnographic, historic and archaeological sources in interpreting the myths they all appear to have already been out of date in the 1950's (when he wrote this book) and, worse, the sources themselves are not referenced. The result is a classic among classics, a treasure trove of extraordinary tales and a masterful work of literature in its own right. I give it either a high 3 or low 4, a bit closer to an educational book instead of a casual reader, still enjoyable for those with an interest in the subject – however if you only have a casual passing interest in Greek Mythology I would suggest reading Homer instead.

It is a collection that will be avidly read and treasured by children, and rediscovered with nostalgic zeal by adults. To be clear, I applaud the author for this approach; it truly seems that Graves was trying to get to the real anthropological roots of each myth. Fagles uses a loose five-beat line and I find this translation both clear and sensitive to the magic of literary techniques such as alliteration. These ancient references are then listed which easily provides the reader the information they need to do further investigation. The reason the discus was involved in the deaths of various mythological figures (such as Hyacinth, Crocus, Phocus, Acrisius, etc.At the Battle of the Somme he was so badly wounded by a shell-fragment through the lung that he was expected to die, and indeed was officially reported as 'died of wounds'. And to be honest I wouldn’t blame anyone for excising the commentary, because once you step outside the mythological encyclopaedia, the majority of this book is a never-ending stream of either tenuously supported or entirely baseless conspiracy theories. Next we have the two volumes of the Icelandic Sagas published in 1999 and 2002, that are edited, introduced by Magnus Magnusson. Having done that though, I can honestly say that I am completely convinced that Graves' organizational scheme in this reference book is nothing short of brilliant. This book is a weird combination of extremely thorough mythology encyclopedia and bizarre conspiracy theories concocted by the author.

It's precisely as "scholarly" studies that they disappointed me; and yes, they certainly also fail as "story-telling". 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. Thankfully, Graves is a pretty universally ridiculed figure in modern classical scholarship, which is fair because he was a pretty bad classicist.Although a consummate reteller, he also published original fiction including The Luck of Troy (1961) and The Land of the Lord High Tiger (1958). Steampunk and whimsy meet technology and survival guide in this delightful blend of history, humour and how-to! Un pregio importante del libro consiste nell'abilità di una scrittura scorrevole, non accademica, che però si associa ad un grande rigore conoscitivo e storico. I personally think that Graves' extensive knowledge and authorship of poetry qualifies him as much (possibly more) as anyone else when commenting on the etymology of the Greek myths. 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.