The Library 2, book 3.10-end Epitome

by Apollodorus of Athens

The Library provides in three books a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Written in clear and unaffected style, the compendium faithfully follows the Greek literary sources. It is thus an important record of Greek accounts of the origin and early history of the world and their race. This work has been attributed to Apollodorus of Athens (born c. 180 BCE), a student of Aristarchus. But the text as we have it was written by an author probably living in the first or second century of our era.

In his highly valued notes to the Loeb Classical Library edition (which is in two volumes) J. G. Frazer cites the principal passages of other ancient writers where each particular story is told and compares the various versions to those in the Library.

Genres: Classics, Mythology, History

464 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 121

About the author

Greek: Απολλόδωρος
Apollodorus of Athens (Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ὁ Ἀθηναῖος, Apollodoros ho Athenaios; c. 180 BC – after 120 BC), son of Asclepiades, was a Greek scholar, historian, and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius the Stoic, and the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace, under whom he appears to have studied together with his contemporary Dionysius Thrax. He left (perhaps fled) Alexandria around 146 BC, most likely for Pergamon, and eventually settled in Athens.

Reviews

[James Violand · Rating 5 out of 5]

You want to know where all the ancient Greek gods are described? How about the Heroes? They are all here in this two volume set. Appolodorus compiled the Greek myths here. Undoubtedly used by all subsequent (post 140 AD) compilers of ancient myth, this is the source. Although Hesiod and Pindar (and possibly Ovid) were his sources, you would have to read each of them to find but a quarter of the material on mythology.