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Brush Up Your Mythology!
Greek and Roman tales are more popular and influential than ever and can be seen in all aspects of our modern culture. Brush up Your Mythology! takes an irreverent look at those gods and spirits whose myths and legends have become commonplace today. Chaos, Mother Earth, and Cupid appear, along with the origins of the days of the week and an alphabetical listing of all the important gods and goddesses. Black-and-white illustrations further enliven this terrific reference book.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 13, 2024
Honestly, Michael Macrone's 1994 By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology really does make me growl a bit with annoyance and frustration. For albeit Michael Macrone's presented text for By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology certainly features a fun, entertaining and also enlightening representation of Greek and Roman mythology, as well as nicely showing how both mythologies are often still culturally present and intertwined in the world of today, as well as in the English language I might ass (and with By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology being suitable for readers from about the age of ten onwards and penned in a light and breezy, reading interest retaining narrative voice), there are at least for me (and especially for my older adult self with more than one university degree) two rather major academic lapses and issues emanating from Macrone's pen that I simply cannot and will not ignore and actually have trouble even tolerating.
For one, and for me rather a huge academic faux pas, I do find the book title of By Jove! Brush up Your Mythology not only majorly misleading but in fact rather inappropriate and as such of course wrong, wrong, wrong. For when I look at the wording of said title, I am and quite naturally so assuming that Michael Macrone is going to be writing about mythology in general and thus will also have information and details on Egyptian, Norse, Celtic, Sumerian etc. mythology being presented and NOT just limit his narrative to Greece and Rome (and since Macrone obviously only wants to concentrate on Greek and Roman mythology in By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology, well, this should most definitely be represented in the book heading by having the adjectives Greek and Roman included). And two, while in the Acknowledgements section of By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology, Michael Macrone does kind of present a bibliography of sorts and shows from which primary sources he has gleaned and taken his featured contents, sorry, but in my not so humble opinion, Macrone's presented sources are really user, are majorly supplemental research unfriendly and would indeed also work much better as a separate list than having Michael Macrone present his bibliography in a very long and rather unreadable run-on sentence, and not to mention that an Acknowledgment section for a given book usually means thanking friends, family members, research contributors etc. and that listing one's primary and secondary sources should really be in chapters titled Notes or Bibliography, since indeed, I actually almost missed that Michael Macrone does include bibliographical materials in By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology because I certainly was not assuming that Macrone's Acknowledgements would be bibliographical in scope, and that well, I also tend to look for sources either within the text proper or at the end and not right after the introduction.
Thus while what Michael Macrone has actually penned about Greek and Roman mythology in By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology I definitely have enjoyed reading and also do recommend both for younger readers and also for adults desiring a general and entertaining introduction, sorry, but for my older adult and also for my academically inclined self, the misleading book title and the user unfriendly sources certainly bother me enough to only consider a two star rating for By Jove! Brush Up Your Mytholgy (a high two stars of course, but no, I personally and even more so academically cannot consider a rating of three stars).
For one, and for me rather a huge academic faux pas, I do find the book title of By Jove! Brush up Your Mythology not only majorly misleading but in fact rather inappropriate and as such of course wrong, wrong, wrong. For when I look at the wording of said title, I am and quite naturally so assuming that Michael Macrone is going to be writing about mythology in general and thus will also have information and details on Egyptian, Norse, Celtic, Sumerian etc. mythology being presented and NOT just limit his narrative to Greece and Rome (and since Macrone obviously only wants to concentrate on Greek and Roman mythology in By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology, well, this should most definitely be represented in the book heading by having the adjectives Greek and Roman included). And two, while in the Acknowledgements section of By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology, Michael Macrone does kind of present a bibliography of sorts and shows from which primary sources he has gleaned and taken his featured contents, sorry, but in my not so humble opinion, Macrone's presented sources are really user, are majorly supplemental research unfriendly and would indeed also work much better as a separate list than having Michael Macrone present his bibliography in a very long and rather unreadable run-on sentence, and not to mention that an Acknowledgment section for a given book usually means thanking friends, family members, research contributors etc. and that listing one's primary and secondary sources should really be in chapters titled Notes or Bibliography, since indeed, I actually almost missed that Michael Macrone does include bibliographical materials in By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology because I certainly was not assuming that Macrone's Acknowledgements would be bibliographical in scope, and that well, I also tend to look for sources either within the text proper or at the end and not right after the introduction.
Thus while what Michael Macrone has actually penned about Greek and Roman mythology in By Jove! Brush Up Your Mythology I definitely have enjoyed reading and also do recommend both for younger readers and also for adults desiring a general and entertaining introduction, sorry, but for my older adult and also for my academically inclined self, the misleading book title and the user unfriendly sources certainly bother me enough to only consider a two star rating for By Jove! Brush Up Your Mytholgy (a high two stars of course, but no, I personally and even more so academically cannot consider a rating of three stars).
January 1, 2023
Book dedicated to exploring the stories behind some of the words that can be discovered in the English language. The author does suggest at the beginning in the Introduction that he has taken some liberties to combine some of the stories together or to make changes that he feels may be valid in the telling since of numerous versions that can be found.
The book does include two family trees for the readers who are looking for the info with the oldest linage in the front and the more modern gods in the back. Plus there is also included in the back a glossary of famous names for quicker access for the reader who has questions about one or two particular individuals without wanting to look up their story.
Otherwise the book is basically divided up into sections that collect many similar terms together whether they are from the abstract embodiments of the older gods, the Titans, the Olympians and so on. These collections are then further provided with smaller chapters that focus on a particular story from the mythoi while also providing examples of words that we have that are derived from those very same elements.
What bothered me so much more about this book was the fact that Helios and Selene were removed completely from the books while replaced with Apollo in Helios example. Meanwhile Selene wasn't only not really mentioned but nor was it mentioned that like her brother Artemis took over Selene's role thus her stories, which is conflicting in all its own interest. Meanwhile Michael Macrone also combined the cultural names of the deities once or twice thus stories included both Roman and Grecian deities at the same time. And nor was Medusa really mentioned while I was looking forward to see which version he would include on that.
In the end it was an okay book while a fascinating starter for those who may be interested in language and/or myhoi but for others who have studied mythoi seriously it is rather something that one has already come across several times.
The book does include two family trees for the readers who are looking for the info with the oldest linage in the front and the more modern gods in the back. Plus there is also included in the back a glossary of famous names for quicker access for the reader who has questions about one or two particular individuals without wanting to look up their story.
Otherwise the book is basically divided up into sections that collect many similar terms together whether they are from the abstract embodiments of the older gods, the Titans, the Olympians and so on. These collections are then further provided with smaller chapters that focus on a particular story from the mythoi while also providing examples of words that we have that are derived from those very same elements.
What bothered me so much more about this book was the fact that Helios and Selene were removed completely from the books while replaced with Apollo in Helios example. Meanwhile Selene wasn't only not really mentioned but nor was it mentioned that like her brother Artemis took over Selene's role thus her stories, which is conflicting in all its own interest. Meanwhile Michael Macrone also combined the cultural names of the deities once or twice thus stories included both Roman and Grecian deities at the same time. And nor was Medusa really mentioned while I was looking forward to see which version he would include on that.
In the end it was an okay book while a fascinating starter for those who may be interested in language and/or myhoi but for others who have studied mythoi seriously it is rather something that one has already come across several times.
August 25, 2014
This was light & humorous in tone. I don't think the research was very deep or scholarly but this was a good way to refresh the old cultural literacy and I did learn a few new things. My mind kept flashing on TV's Hercules, Ray Harryhausen films & old Steve Reeves movies as I read through this.
February 27, 2022
A good reference book with a short summary of who and what kind of God, Beast, Creature, etc they are and who their parents are or what they were made from. The author uses humor which I think is a nice touch. If you are wanting stories then this is not a book for you but again, a good reference book.
September 19, 2012
Very light, but very good review of famous Greek and Roman myths. The author's main purpose is word origin, but the info on the myths is very good too.
March 31, 2013
A good short guide with humor highlighting Greek and Roman mythology and how it has influenced our language and culture.
July 18, 2019
Great for those who can't remember stories for the life of them. Summarizes things quite nicely and in a very engaging way so you can truly enjoy them for the next 5 minutes until you've forgotten them again. In all seriousness, I'm not fond of mythology generally but when I feel that I should give it a go for the sake of literature, this takes all the pain out of it.
April 26, 2023
A fascinating and entertaining story about classical mythology.
August 24, 2024
Easy to read little encyclopedia of Greek mythology. Bonus that it was funny!
August 15, 2014
This is my first book in the Brush Up series. It contains all of the elements that attract me to such books filled with trivia, humor, and intended to round one's education. Filled with common expressions and phrases we use, or have heard, the reader discovers the origins and a brief history of usage from its first entry into English up to the modern meanings.
The renderings of the various stores demonstrates the variety of myths a term or phrase is rooted. I especially enjoyed learning the roots of very common words such as 'fascination' and 'enthusiasm', how things have changed through the centuries.
I very much look forward to reading other works in the series.
The renderings of the various stores demonstrates the variety of myths a term or phrase is rooted. I especially enjoyed learning the roots of very common words such as 'fascination' and 'enthusiasm', how things have changed through the centuries.
I very much look forward to reading other works in the series.
December 5, 2008
Oddly enough, this book appears to have been originally titled "By Jove!", which would have been far more fitting. Though you will learn (or relearn) a number of famous tales, the purpose of this book is not to function as a primer, but rather to describe the Greek/Roman mythological roots of common English words and phrases. And in that capacity it does an excellent job, covering terms from the obvious (dionysian) to the obscure (syringe), with a healthy peppering of amusing commentary interspersed. If you're a fan of language or mythology, this is a fun read.
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June 1, 2010Those Ancient Greeks were very inventive, and also perverted, but mainly inventive. I would totally watch Emmerdale and Corrie if they took more of a tip from the ancients' utterly bizarre plotlines, although as with Eastenders I would probably never understand the complex web of relationships between the characters.
May 1, 2011
This books the perfect combination of 2 of my favorite things mythology and etemology. The point of this book is discussion the origin of various words and phrases in relation to mostly greek and some roman (which relates very strongly to the greek) mythology. I would recommend this to anyone whose a fan of mythology or likes learning about words.
August 11, 2016
This is really a reference book with short entries about some Greek/Roman mythological influences on modern English words and sayings.
December 19, 2012
Easy to read, clearly written. Only covers Greek and Roman.
September 8, 2013
Entertaing.
February 20, 2016
It is good review of Mythology. Or view if you don't much to start with.
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July 24, 2011Words we use today have connections with Greek and Roman mythology. Pretty interesting stuff.
August 14, 2016
The author has some great ways to deliver myth tales with some kind of sarcastic humor. Me likey.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews