Rating: 
Summary: Doesnt deal with myths' deeper historical origins
Review: I can only say, not being a classicist, but one who did study under the esteemed Prof. Edward O'Neil of Univ. of Southern California, that I find it curious that this author does not deal much with the theories of migrations (Achaeans, Dorians later) into Greece that explain origins and approximate dates of certain myths. For example the inclusion of chthonic deities/mother earth deities being early myths of Minoan influences, the patriarchal - sky-god myths relating to Achaeans and their influence by migration on the Greek mainland. I find H.J. Rose better at this for sure, as is O'Neil's work on Library of Apollodorus. Man, Myth and Monument,is also an excellent guide for anyone who wants to follow this fascinating aspect of myth.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Place to Start
Review: I have been amazed by this book, it is an extremelly interesting book, with a lot of insight in the Greek mythology, I really loved reading it and it also gave me a better understanding in the greek culture and its mythology.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: I have been amazed by this book, it is an extremelly interesting book, with a lot of insight in the Greek mythology, I really loved reading it and it also gave me a better understanding in the greek culture and its mythology.
Rating:
Summary: An informative book that assumes no prior knowledge of myth.
Review: I took the Classical Myth class that Professor Powell teaches at Madison. Although I did not have Professor Powell, the class centered around the Classical Myth book that he wrote. This book is an excellent textbook because it assumes no prior knowledge of classical myth on the part of the reader. Although I used it as a textbook, I found it very interesting to read and consider it worthwhile outside reading. He effectively covers all topics of Greek myth, including the gods and the heroes, but also presents interesting sidenotes concerning aetiologies (the Greek beliefs as to the origin of certain phenomenons) and the origin of English words used today. Powell tries to relate Greek myth to earlier myth such as that used by the ancient Sumerians, and this is the only part of the book that I didn't like. It made the myth too confusing and was very difficult to remember. However, he provides an excellent relation of Greek Myth to Roman myth in one of the final chapters of the book. Finally, the pictures in the book are fantastic because they show how the ancient Greeks passed on the stories they told in myth through their art. In conclusion, Powell's book was absolutely wonderful. This was one of my favorite classes at UW-Madison because the book really tied everything together and showed the importance of myth in everyday Greek life. My only caution is not to take the book too seriously, or you will start beliving in Zeus and Heracles, just like the Greeks did.
Rating:
Summary: Great Composition
Review: Powell has done it again in his fourth edition. Though there are minor changes whcih he made in the newest edition, this book offers great details about ancient gods and heroes - putting the reader's mind into the ancient mythical land. The books also has actual passages from various ancient writers and also included more background stories to help the readers understand the story in a better perspective. His writing is simple and honest. Its worth your money if you are an avid mythology reader.
Rating:
Summary: good analysis but serious errors
Review: Powell provides students with a mainstream analysis of the classical myths in this book. However the text has two major flaws which necessiated my using an additional text for my Classical Mythology course. First, when he does not directly sight a document his reporting of what happens in the narrative is sometimes incorrect, for example it does not say in the Enuma Elish that the younger gods danced and thus distrubed Anu and Tiamat -- it just says that the elder gods were troubled and the younger gods were noisy. Secondly there are historical errors and controdictions in the test as he attempts to provide background for the stories. An good attempt at classical mythology but not the best I've seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Bary Powell is INSANE! but in a good way.
Review: Professor Powell is Proffessor of Classics at the University of Wisconsin, where he attracts studednts from all departments to his courses with his energetic lectures and true passion for the material he presents. This book, his text book for an intermediate level course in classics, embodies his style and flair for the subject with great skill. It's not just informative, Classical Myth is fun to read. He includes all the little bits they don't tell you about in high school, which will shock and surprise you. This is not a book for children. Prof. Powell brings color and energy to every myth he reviews. He also traces a western myth tradition from ancient Babylon through to images found in early Christianity. If you enjoy tales of myth and legend, you'll enjoy this book, buy it.
Rating:
Summary: The 3rd edition
Review: The popularity of Classical Myth as a text for college classes is quite understandable; Classical Myth is a useful synthesis of textbook- and sourcebook-style material. The writing is engaging and the level of detail is appropriate--enough to challenge students but not so much as to overwhelm. Moreover, the third edition offers several significant improvements over the second edition. Let me share a few of the changes that jumped out at me:The chapters on the Olympian gods have been re-organized so that chapter six covers Zeus and Hera, chapter seven covers the male Olympians, and chapter eight covers the female Olympians. In the previous edition, the logic of the division of deities was less clear--chapter six covered Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Hades and Aphrodite; chapter seven treated Apollo and Artemis; and chapter 8 discussed Hephaestus, Ares, Athena, and Hermes. There is also a new chapter, chapter twelve, entitled "Introduction to Heroic Myth." It is a short chapter which introduces students to the idea of the hero. Although the chapter is new, much of the material it contains is actually not new--it comes from chapter fifteen in the previous edition which was a discussion of myths related to Heracles. In my opinion, this chapter could usefully be expanded--it is quite short, and there is a great deal that can be said about the figure of the hero in myth and in interpretation of myth which is not said here. Finally, lists of key terms have been added at the end of each chapter, an addition which may be useful to students. However, I have a few quibbles with aspects of the previous edition that still appear in the third edition. Let me offer two general reflections and then one very specific objection. First, although Powell does use footnotes, they generally only gloss material that may be confusing for students. Like many other authors of textbooks on mythology, he usually doesn't indicate from what source or sources the various parts of the myths he is describing come. Of course, his text isn't intended for serious scholarly use and most scholars no doubt know where to turn for more detailed information. But students who want to track down the original sources will often be left in the dark by Powell's presentation of the myths. Since, however, I don't believe I've every seen a handbook of mythology that noted sources in this way, Powell really cannot be faulted for his decision. Second, Classical Myth is, like all handbooks of mythology, selective. Powell generally focuses on the most important and famous variants of the myths he discusses. This is quite appropriate for a textbook, but it is also somewhat deceptive. Students may come away with the erroneous impression that an established "canon" of Greek myth existed. I think a few more examples of variant versions of myths would help students appreciate that the stories that appear in Classical Myth represent only a few versions of the many disparate, often contradictory, stories of the gods and heros that were told by the Greeks. Finally, getting down to specifics, in the chapters on the Olympian gods, Powell asserts confidently that "by the sixth century...a body of twelve Olympian gods and goddesses had been recognized." He admits that the list was somewhat flexible--sometimes Dionysus replaces Hestia. But for the Greeks, the list was not nearly so fixed (back to my objections about creating a false sense that there was a mythological "canon"). It is clear, both from the text in chapter six and from the accompanying chart, that Powell includes Hades as one of the Olympians. This perplexes me- as far as I can tell Hades was not usually included among the Olympian deities at all. According to Eudoxus, a student of Plato, the twelve are Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hermes, Athena, Hephaestus, and Hestia. In other words, Eudoxus omits Hades and prefers Hestia to Dionysus. (Chart 6.1, which lists the Olympian deities, has undergone some revision from the previous edition; chart 6.1 in the second edition, properly I think, omitted Hades. But in the new edition, Hades has been added to the chart, with the result that thirteen deities appear in bold, not twelve, adding to the confusion.) Just a few more minor quibbles: the Orphic material still appears in the chapter on death rather than in the chapters on creation where, I think, it more appropriately belongs. And Powell's enthusiasm for the Greek alphabet--which seems somewhat idiosyncratic to me--is still apparent, though less so than in the previous edition in which he referred to the "limitations inherent in prealphabetic writing." I think the Hittite Telepinus myth should be included--or at least mentioned -among the myths on the Great Goddess. And finally I would particularly like to know the origin of the claim that temple prostitution occurred at Cythera. Overall, however, I like Classical Myth, and I do feel that the third edition is an improvement over the second. Using Classical Myth and, perhaps, a few inexpensive paperback editions of Hesiod and Greek plays, it's possible to teach a class on Classical Mythology. By collecting the myths from other cultures--especially the Eastern myths--Powell has taken a lot of hard work out of teaching this subject. I also find the companion website constructed by Prentice Hall to be an amazing resource--well designed, well executed, and most comprehensive.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction into ancient myth
Review: This book is a must-read for anyone with no real prior knowledge of classical myth, from the ancient Egyptians up through the Roman Empire. Not only does it provide information on culture and historical figures from these epochs, it occassionally relates the influences of these time periods on the modern world of art, music, and literature. An amazing amount of myth is conveyed in the book, and I have found it to be fascinating and of much use in other subjects such as English literature. I am, incidentally, taking Powell's 'Classical Myth' course right now, and he's the best professor I've ever had. :)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent introduction into ancient myth
Review: This book is a must-read for anyone with no real prior knowledge of classical myth, from the ancient Egyptians up through the Roman Empire. Not only does it provide information on culture and historical figures from these epochs, it occassionally relates the influences of these time periods on the modern world of art, music, and literature. An amazing amount of myth is conveyed in the book, and I have found it to be fascinating and of much use in other subjects such as English literature. I am, incidentally, taking Powell's 'Classical Myth' course right now, and he's the best professor I've ever had. :)
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