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Summary: Invaluable reference tool
Review: The previous reviewers are right; this is not a litererary work. What it does is give you a concordance to the myths. It tells you exactly where in the ancient sources to find a mythological reference.
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Summary: THE Reference Work on the Variations of the Greek Myths
Review: There is simply not a better reference book to be found in terms of cataloguing the breadth and depth of Greek mythology. Drawing from virtually every remaining work or scrap of writing from ancient Greece, Robert Graves meticulously documents how there are variations on every single Greek myth. However, this is not a book to be read INSTEAD of Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Bullfinch, Hamilton, etc.; this is to be read in ADDITION to the original works or the more contemporary renditions. To judge this work as a novel is to completely miss the point. But if you are teaching Homer's epics or any of the plays of the Greek tragedians, this is the book that will allow you to better understand the choices being made in that particular telling of the tale. For example, according to a line in the Iliad, Oedipus died in battle, which suggests he did not blind himself as depicted in Sophocles and might force your students to reconsider the play in that light. There are citations for the original sources, as well as maps covering all the places mentioned and a fairly straightforward index. The bottom line is that this book will tell you everything the Greeks knew about any given aspect of mythology and not just what is said in a particular work whether it is an epic poem or a tragic play. If you spend a lot of time teaching the Dead Greeks, this book will be a very valuable and often used addition to your library.
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Summary: Interesting book, handy reference
Review: This book has been a very handy reference. The Greek myths are presented in plain English, and written in chronological order, so they can be enjoyed separately or as a single, unbroken narrative. Citations from numerous sources are given after each story. Robert Graves notes even minor variations on each myth, and the notes that follow give some of the historical basis in which the myth may be rooted. Well worth the cost.
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Summary: Way too long and BORING!
Review: This book should be thought of strictly as a reference. It would be beneficial to someone taking a course in mythology, but is a very bland read. It is organized in an unusual fashion. First it presents the myth and follows it with a section that describes the myth paragraph by paragraph. If you are looking for flowing stories that will enrich your Greek mythology trivia knowledge check out Edith Hamilton's, Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heros.
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Summary: OH yeah
Review: This book was great it really helped me with my report on Greek mythology
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Summary: Excellent reference, very convenient and accessible
Review: This is a student's edition, and anyone who is seeking to learn the facts behind the popular stories of Greek Mythology could do a lot worse than to start here. Graves walks through each individual myth, noting alternative tellings, and follows each with a discussion on sources and interpretations. The stories themselves are pleasurable, but the emphasis is on an academic viewing of them. Each paragraph is marked with a letter of the alphabet for easy reference. In my copy, published by Penguin, I thought that the type was a little too small and dense, but the format and authenticity of Graves' work make this book definitive for anyone not studying the original texts themselves.
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Summary: A REFERENCE Guide to the Greek Myths
Review: This is indeed a complete book of all of the Greeks myths, however it is only a reference. This book has very little literary flair and should be used to refresh your memory of the myths as opposed to actually learning them. Most of the myths are reduced to basic facts and rarely extend beyond one or two pages.
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Summary: Could go either way
Review: This is not a book to read for fun. It is packed with interesting and useful pieces of information but it fails to present itself as an accessable work by its dense, uninteresting narrative style.An essential if Mythology is your 'thing', but this is not for faint of heart.
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Summary: HELPFUL AND INFORMATIVE...
Review: This was a very helpful read,i have always been interseted in Greek mythology.This book is excellent for helping students in their research and is considered as a reference book.
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Summary: Lack of story
Review: While I imaginge this book is a very useful aid to scholars for quick reference, beware that the book does attempt to cover a little too much ground. By a reference aid I mean that all the myths are presented almost as synopses - Orpheus and the underworld, for example, was told in just a single paragraph.
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