Myths of the Greeks and Romans

Anthropologists, classicists, psychoanalysts, and students of religon in this century have all put forth their ideas about Greek and Roman mythology. Although no single theory provides all the answers, all of these diverse views do indicate that mythology is something far more meaningful than the primitive precursor of science or of developed religion that it was formerly believed to be. Michael Grant makes full use of the theories of contemporary scholars to help every reader understand more of the wisdom and riches that are contained in mythology. He retells and discusses not only the purely imaginative stories that everyone would classify as myths, folk tales, and fairy tales, but also sagas and legends that build imaginatively upon historical fact. He summarizes each myth in the version in which it was told by its most remarkable ancient narrator and includes many passages from the best modern translations. The Greek and Latin authors are in chronological order to provide a general survey of the seldom-understood origins of each myth. After each narrative section, the influence of the material in both the ancient and modern worids is brilliantly examined.
Generously illustrated with sixty-four pages of photographs and plates and numerous genealogical tables, Myths of thegGireeks and Romans is a valuable and important contribution by an eminent classical scholar to the understanding of our cultural inheritance.