Cassell Dictionary of Classical Mythology

by Jennifer R. March

This is an A-Z guide to the mythology of the classical world, covering all the principal myths, gods and goddesses, together with the personalities, places, animals, monsters, heavenly bodies and events of classical mythology. Background historical and archaeological information is provided. The outline accounts are supplemented by extensive quotations from the original sources, to help bring the narrative to life and show how literary traditions shaped the development of classical mythology.

Genres: Mythology, Reference, Nonfiction, Classics, History, Folklore, Dictionaries

416 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1999

Reviews

[Eddie Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

To satisfy my Greek Myths reference needs I own this book and Robert Graves' The Greek Myths. Graves' is certainly more detailed and exhaustive but it is also more cranky (as in replete with his iconoclastic theories and opinions) and complicated in its organization. His aspires to an academic-style reference. Jenny March's Dictionary is much more user friendly, and instead of being organized chronologically, as Graves' is, it is simply in alphabetical order. This makes it much easier to get a quick answer or refresher about this or that god or character. Each of Graves' entries has an initial section of numerical bullet-point-type entries, followed by references and then another section of alphabetical bullet-point-type entries; so when trying to get a quick answer the reader must not only negotiate page and volume numbers but also these two different sections within each entry. This gives his collection an air of august authority, but also often leaves me frustrated. Jenny March's seems almost childish next to Graves' - simply organized, clearly written, immediately informative. I prefer this. She does not concern herself with supporting homegrown theories about Homer being a woman, but rather just tells the stories themselves, concisely and engagingly.

After using this for years as a dip-in-and-out reference I recently decided to read it in its entirety. Having learned from my previous attempt to read it cover to cover, and failing due to the disconnected nature of the contiguous entries, this time I am reading it hypertext style. She makes this possible by including in each entry, when she references another person, character, or god, by putting that name in all caps. So I began with Abantes, which entry in its entirety is “see ELEPHENOR”. So I turned to Elephenor and began a long crisscrossing readerly journey through the labyrinth of the Trojan War, with many entries having “hypertext” links to a dozen or more other entries. This style of reading has made of this dictionary a narrative; a narrative told and retold from different angles and perspectives, with histories and backstories larded in, as well as generous selections from the original literary sources. One thing she does that makes this style of reading interesting is that each time she tells essentially the same story in different entries, she tells the story differently, sometimes succinctly sometimes with elaboration, which in itself is a lesson in storytelling. And that’s what March does better than Graves – she tells stories about stories which are interesting stories in themselves. I hope I never find my way back out.

[Judith Starkston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my go-to book whenever I want to remember some detail or variant about a Greek or Roman myth. It's accurate, cites ancient sources so you know which variant came from whom, and is detailed without bogging down. For more on Greek mythology and Troy www.judithstarkston.com

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great dictionary of classical mythology, in a handy size.

[Widijanto Judono · Rating 5 out of 5]

buku yg bagus sekali sbg pengantar atas mitologi yunani dan latin.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference for times you read/hear a mythology allusion you're not familiar with.