Illustrated Dictionary of Mythology

Rating:
Summary: Crash Course in Mythology
Review: If you enjoy reading myths and want to know more about the characters, god, animals, symbolism and cultures in which the myths are based, don't miss this excellent work.

Not only is the book filled with beautiful art, ancient relics and descriptions of all the characters you could ever wish to read about....you will know be able to look up your favorites in the wonderful index for quick reference.

The sections are divided into Western Asia, Ancient Egypt, India, China and Japan, The Classical World, Northern and Eastern Europe, The Americas, Africa, Australasia and Oceania.

If you are reading say, The Odyssey, you can look up "Poseidon, God of the Sea." You will find a description and picture.

A book that belongs in every Myth lovers collection.

You might also enjoy:

Myths and Legends by Neil Philip which has a magnificent picture of seductive sirens trying to lure Odysseus from his boat.
A First Book of Myths by Mary Hoffman for young readers
Signs & Symbols by Miranda Bruce-Mitford

Rating:
Summary: ranges of meanings of mythic images
Review: WYBIWYG what you believe is what you get; somehow this idea developed in my mind after studying intensely the Illustrated Dictionary of Mythology by Philip Wilkinson; fortunately my mind was flexible to the concepts of mythic images by virtue of my hero, Joseph Campbell, and by being a penpal with his co-author of Mythic Images, MJ Abadie; however i [small ego] was still a little unprepared to the individual diversity of who the idol was [is?] and exactly what they did or what the meaning of their image is in the current people holding those ancestral images; and these people may still reside in their ancestral homeland where the 'comfort' of sharing these common, though personalized, meanings with living elders, who may have spun the mythic web with childhood bedtime stories; and CERTAINLY unprepared for the INTENSE desire to defend ANY intellectual assault on the images or simply on the rebuff of NOT including that native people in a forum DEFINED to focus on a specific other native people ??? so in this milieu, i appreciated the simplicity and even generality of Wilkinson's definitions; stay flexible cultural anthropologists! LOL