The Penguin Book of Classical Myths

by Jennifer R. March

The figures and events of classical myths underpin our culture and the constellations named after them fill the night sky. Whether it’s the raging Minotaur trapped in the Cretan labyrinth or the twelve labours of Hercules, Aphrodite’s birth from the waves or Zeus visiting Danae as a shower of gold, the mythology of Greece and Rome is full of unforgettable stories. All the stories of the Greek tragedies – Oedipus, Medea, Antigone – are there; all the events of the Trojan wars and of Odysseus and Aeneas’ epic journeys; the founding of Athens and of Rome… These are the strangest tales of love, war, betrayal and heroism ever told and, while brilliantly retelling them, this book shows how they echo through the works of much later writers from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Camus and Ted Hughes. Full of attractive illustrations and laid out in eighteen clear chapters (the titles include ‘Dangerous Women’ and ‘Heroes’), Dr Jennifer March has written a fascinating guide to the myths of classical civilization that is as readable as a novel.

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Classics, History, Greek Mythology, Greece, Short Stories

588 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Circe by Madeline Miller earlier in the year I felt irresistibly drawn towards the actual classical myths.
This book has been on my shelves for a long time along with The Illiad and The Odyssey. So I decided that a general overview of all the characters, gods a mortals, heros and monsters would be a good place to begin my foray into 'history'.
I had thought to dip into sections with this one, like a text book but it is very readable and I read it cover to cover.
There are maps so I got a sense of place, there are illustrations and photographs and the stories are thrilling.
One of the best things I've taken from this book is the fact that I feel I've retained a lot of the information which I'm sure will be an asset when I read Illiad and Odyssey hopefully next year.
There is a big section on the Trojan war which was brilliant, it blew the film out the water. I think they kept the absolute bare bones of the story, the characters like Achilles and Hektor, Paris and Helen, Agamemnon and Odysseus (Sean Beans part) who's idea of the Trojan horse finally allowed the greek armies to enter Troy and sack the city, thereby ending the 10 year war.
A final thought, there are a lot of stories that are comparable with old testament bible stories which feel like they were the original versions passed down from greatest antiquity.
This book is so very good, accessible, well written and thought out.
5* from me and a place on my books im passionate about shelf.

[raffaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of many of the major Greek (and Roman) myths - this would make a great reference book, with its short yet engaging summaries. And I dare say a reference is needed when it comes to these myths - there's so many names and genealogies that it's hard to keep track (I already feel the need to re-read this at some point). Now I want to read The Penguin Book of Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt, so hopefully I will be able to convince my library to purchase it!

[Circe · Rating 4 out of 5]

CONTAINS BRIEF NUDITY. (Have I got your attention yet?)

Ever since reading the tragic tale of Echo and Narcissus, absorbing the triumphs of Hercules and spending a glorious sum of hours composing papier-mâché Gorgon heads in sixth year, I've been irreparably hooked on Greek mythology. Reading March's collection has only rekindled my love for these truly fantastical tales. It's captivating to learn how large an impact these characters and stories have made, such as the lending of certain vocabulary, idioms, etc. to our modern day language. Although the sheer enormity of what March has to work with makes certain things a little hard to grasp - mainly the colossal list of names - she does it brilliantly. An admirable if useful trait of The Penguin Book of Classical Myths is that it's one that can be dived into wherever, whenever. The illustrations are also lovely (if hard to find!) and serve as a wondrous interval of colour and portrayal of relevant mythological characters and events, disregarding the rather hauntingly superb depiction of Kronos devouring his son. I particularly adored the 'Heaven and it's constellations' print, even though I've had trouble finding it. It's always especially enlightening to read tales that have had such a significant impact on the world around us yet can alienate us almost entirely. As March so rightly puts it: 'they do things differently here.'

My only disappointment comes with the little-to-no elaboration of aspects such as well-known same-sex relationships (e.g Patroclus and Achilles, Pan and Daphnis, Zeus and Callisto etc) and the detailed story of Pandora's Box. Even the creatures seemed skimmed over slightly and I was looking forward to them the most, especially awesome ones like Kerberos. I just wanted a little more personally but it's an essential addition to any classics fans bookshelf nevertheless.

Seeing as though it wasn't included I'd like to finish this review with John William Waterhouse's wonderful Echo and Narcissus piece, which I love so much a copy hangs on my bedroom wall:

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could gush about this for hours. Absolutely stunning.

[Nora Røssland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way March writes! Even tho this was on my syllabus and I had to read it, it was super interesting!! March adds many fun stories and comments - she is a menace in her descriptions. This was really fun!
Finished it just in time for my exam!!

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m going to be honest and admit that this book came to me by accident.

I’m a lover of the classical myths. Name a time period of old where myths were aplenty and I’m sure I have some knowledge in the back of my mind, knowledge I would like to expand upon. So, when my grandfather handed me this book and told me it was a free book I was rather taken aback. A free book detailing classical myths? I had to be missing out on something.

Fortunately, I was not. Due to his membership with some book company (for the life of me I cannot recall what the company is), he occasionally gets free books sent to him. These books tend to be the end of the line books or books where there is a very small error in printing (even if it is the tiniest miss alignment that most people will overlook). Nine times out of ten these are books he will read, but every so often something comes along that he is able to hand over to someone else suffering from a bad case of bibliomania.

Unwilling to let the ‘free’ status deter me, I jumped right in and filled up my mind with more knowledge on the classical myths. Whilst it is not the most extensive book on the mark, it is certainly an interesting read. Whether you want to read a favour or you’re looking to find out more about a particular story this book comes in useful.

As a whole, a thoroughly enjoyable reference point.

[Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely superb compendium of the Greek myths. I think it is, in fact, an even better read than Robert Graves' The Greek Myths that I finished reading a few weeks ago. While I think that Graves' book is the more scholarly treatment, Ms. March's collection is better written and is probably organized in a more user-friendly fashion for readers trying to access information quickly. This is a wonderful book to have on the shelf with your editions of Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Sappho, Ovid, and Virgil.

[Imogen Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice overview into Greek mythology that gave quotes of original texts which were very poetic and something I wouldn't have thought to look into. Occasionally, it got very long winded with little direction but I guess that's Greek mythology ha!

[Yasiru · Rating 5 out of 5]

This seems not a very well known collection, but is highly readable and as comprehensive as one can expect. Serves as an appealing middle option between more terse classical dictionaries or compendia and shorter, outlook(as opposed to retelling)-inclined accounts like Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction.

[Ashley Mcintyre · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting content but a laborious read.

[Rusha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenny March has done a wonderful job of collecting the mythology of Ancient Greece and Rome into this comprehensive but accessible volume. It can be read cover to cover (some repetition - but these are mostly unavoidable) or treated as a reference book. Pulling from a wide range of original sources, she helpfully flags where classical writers had different interpretations of a certain story. This gives a wonderful sense of the evolving nature of myth, and the way that cultural stories are revisited and revised to suit new audiences. In this way, the changes in myths over time tell a story too - tracking the changing attitudes and beliefs of the Ancient Greek men and women who consumed them. March’s passion for her subject especially shines in her compelling retellings of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Brilliant!

[Jeroen Goedhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be an excellent book to cover the major (and some minor) Greek myths with lots of sources and explanations of origins and discussion the multiple versions of the stories.

But it was just SO NOT what I was expecting, and therefore massively disappointing for me..

Apart from the stories on Troy, Odyssey, and the Argonauts, most pages dwindle in naming hundreds of names and family trees. Basically unreadable if you are here for a good telling of a myth.

[Michael Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would say more like 3.5 stars. I too my time with this even though it was a little slow at the beginning and all the names were a bit confusing. Really enjoyed how the author connected all the stories from different accounts and writers. Would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in mythology and really loved the time and care the author took with it.

[Alba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro súper interesante, pero que no he podido terminar por cuestiones logísticas (tenía que devolverlo a la biblioteca y ya se me estaba haciendo bola). Sin tener eso en cuenta, me ha gustado bastante y hay mucha mitología que he aprendido o reforzado lo que ya sabia.

[Clare Fidler · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️

I’ve been reading through this one to better understand Greek mythology so I can tackle some retelling stories. Writing is super easy to understand. A great intro to Greek myths.

[CC · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of even greater myths. This book covers famous and lesser known myths with the same amount of attention to detail. It reads somewhere between a textbook and a novel: it doesn’t flow as smoothly through the stories as a novel, but it’s not nearly as dry as a textbook. A perfect book to keep as a reference, or to get into mythology!

[Maria A 🌙 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's incredibly useful for researching and fact checking

[Chandra Marcoux · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this while sightseeing in Rome a couple of years ago because, well, when in Rome, I suppose. I thought I would read it when I got home, but the longer I was away from the culture the less it interested me until I sort of just forgot it existed.

It was really good! I really only know mythology from the little bits they taught in school, which were super toned down for obvious reasons. It was neat to read the less PG versions of the stories. The author also pulls from SO many different sources and you often get three of four versions of the same stories and it was fun to see where and how they differ. If you have any interest in mythology at all, this is a great read.

[CC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book while vacationing in Rome and Florence -- I actually bought it at the Colosseum gift shop! Something about being in Rome really piqued my interest in Greek and Roman mythology, so I just whipped through this while sitting in different piazzas and on different terraces, enjoying the Italian sunshine. I really think everyone should have this foundation of knowledge re: Greek and Roman myth, especially lovers of literature, who will run into various permutations of these classic myths over and over again in their reading adventures.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought one weekend killing time in the British Museum in autumn 2019, I decided to educate myself on the missing gaps left behind from my art history and religion and theology degree. This book is fantastic and really interesting especially and I liked that it was by a female writer. I found it waaaaaaay more accessible compared to Robert Graves!

[Mrs C · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best mythology books right beside Edith Hamilton's.

[Stephanie]

So far its really good and non complicated like books on the classical myths tend to be.

[Paddy Kinsella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classics was my favourite subject at school. Following Odysseus as he was directed by Poseidon’s waves to another treacherous island on his long way home to Ithaca was where I’d drift, daydreaming the magical scenes to life. And with age, the wisdom and timeliness of these stories - that have lasted so long for a reason - has only grown stronger.

In this collection, March adds more gold to their already sublime lustre. I adored learning about hesperos’, the kindly evening star that brings in the quiet night, association with wedding songs and love. Sisyphus’ fate in Tartaros, where famous sinners are punished for their life on earth in Hades’ underground, is well known but I enjoyed learning of Tityos who is forever tied to the ground with two vultures either side of him, tearing at his liver - a liver that permanently regenerates ensuring eternal torment. I also enjoyed learning how Hera’s jealousy of Zeus’ illegitimate child Heracles (Hercules) led to her afflicting him with a fit of homicidal madness that saw him murder his children - they didn’t include that in the Disney version!

These stories are imbued throughout our world today. Ever wondered were the phrase ‘don’t rest on your laurels come from?’. Well, you’ll learn how in this book. Daphne keen to evade Apollo who was after marrying her, prayed to her father the river god Peneus who in response turned her into a tree. Apollo then proclaimed that the laurel of the tree will adorn my hair ensuring his head is always young and head never shorn and in repayment, the tree will have a crowning glory of leaves that will never fade or fall. That crown was placed on the winner’s head at Apollo’s Pythian Games and ‘don’t rest on your laurels’ is a reminder that excellence is temporary unless maintained.

You also learn that the word Narcissist originates from the character Narcissus. A truly beautiful man who turned down all those who desired him. One jilted lover prayed for a curse on Narcissus and as a result, he was fated to fall in love with himself and stared at his reflection in the river until he wasted away for lack of food.

It’s a truly odd world - Minos who had no divine right to become the king of Crete, prayed for a message from the gods to show the populace that they supported his claim. Poseidon sent him a white bull that Minos promised to sacrifice and with that he was named king. However, the new king found the bull too beautiful and let it live with the rest of his herds. As punishment, Poseidon inflicted upon Minos’ wife Pasiphae an ungovernable passion for the bull, she would not be satisfied until she mated with it. A brilliant inventor and master craftsman Daidalos then fashioned a wooden cow, covered with hide, for Pasiphae to crouch inside whilst the cow coupled with her. And from that union, the Minotaur was born.

People having a shared mythology not only ensures we have something in common before opening our myths but it also shrouds our world as a real of magic. If you believe in sacrificing to a god whenever you take from the earth, you learn a give and take relationship with nature - something in today’s world we desperately require. Lessons abound in this book but that perhaps of them all is the greatest.

[John Of Oxshott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, which I discovered by chance in Watkins Books in Cecil Court, London.

It has an uninspiring title and I'd never heard of the author, Jenny March, but I really warmed to her. If you've read any other books about Greek and Roman mythology you'll know that what she has achieved is truly remarkable. She has made everything clear without over-simplifying. Her versions of the myths are light and readable but she doesn't talk down to you or make silly little jokes. She is deeply learned but her style is almost conversational, as if you are chatting over a cup of tea and she is sharing her enthusiasm with you. She doesn't seem to miss much out. The stories are presented more or less chronologically and are easy to navigate if you don't want to read everything at once. She doesn't flit about like some writers but stays focused on a particular story arc so that you get the complete picture.

She incorporates Roman mythology and gives both Roman and Greek names where applicable but primarily uses the Greek names throughout. Her introduction, explaining what she has done and how she has done it is very helpful.

As she says there, this book "is something of a celebration of myth in ancient literature, and wherever it seems appropriate I quote from the original texts to bring the narrative to life."

I loved this use of quotations. The translations, she says, are her own, which is commendable because she has a lucid and engaging style.

I recommend this book to anyone curious about Greek and Roman mythology, wanting to refresh their memory or fill in some gaps. It was truly a refreshing and pleasurable read from beginning to end.

[zoddicus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid introduction/overview to classical (greek/roman) mythology. For the reader that wants a broad understanding of these myths and how they interconnect.

It is somewhat academic, i.e. not a literary retelling or translation of the original texts, but instead presents the details/structure of the various stories, while providing their context within the rest of the mythos, and some historical context of how they originated and developed culturally.

There is a ton of material in this book, so I wouldn't expect to absorb/retain it all on one reading. On my first reading it did a really good job of helping my fill in the details/misremembering of myths and the overall structure of them. There were many smaller details and elements that I learnt that amused me. I expect to come back to this in the future to renew my understanding of these stories.

The author makes it explicit in the introduction that the stories covered in the book are from an era with different social norms (and even in their own cultural context some where considered shocking/immoral). This means these are not the sanitized/Disney versions of some of these myths, but the descriptions of the original version, so there is significant violence, both physical/sexual, as well as other elements that a modern reader may find objectionable.

[Matthew Gurteen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to read, but I did enjoy this collection of retold Greek myths by Jennifer R. March. 'The Penguin Book of Classical Myths' is a comprehensive overview of traditional Greek stories. It does not contain them all, nor does it claim to. It does, however, compile a variety of sources in an approachable text for new readers. Highlighting the key names in bold was a beneficial feature at the start of the book. It also contains many interesting illustrations.

I have only given this book four stars, however, because it never grabbed me in the same way other books, Greek myths or otherwise, did. I am not sure if this is because of March's narrative style, which is on the academic side, or because of how the author ordered the myths, leading to some repetition. Whatever the reason, this book did take me a few months to finish because I never felt fully invested in it. Obviously, March is never going to be Ovid. She could have prioritised readability over discussions of sources in some parts, though.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book. I would reread it, and I would recommend it to anyone looking to get into Greek myths or if you are already familiar with them like me. I would also read other books in this series, such as the Egyptian myth book.

[Danielle Pountney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is everything a mythology enthusiast wants, nice detailed stories, well researched and no shying away from the more unsavory details that might make you think twice about your beloved deities (looking at you, Disney Zeus). I loved how detailed each myth was and how there was almost a logical sequence of events that ran between all the myths detailed in this book. However there were times when the writing made the story feel a little dry and I remember having to take various breaks between reading myths just to refocus my mind.
Overall this book is good as it sticks to the facts we have about the various myths but lays the Gods and their deeds bare as it doesn't pull any punches when detailing their life events. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested in mythology as this book doesn't assume you have an in depth understanding, but even if you do know your stories, the likelihood is you'll find some fact here that you didn't already know. The three star rating is mostly based on the fact that I have read fantasy novels and been introduced to a lot more fantasical media relating to these myths so this seemed a lot more down to Earth

[Wing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Myths are distillations of corporate wisdom (sometimes pretentiously called collective consciousness): accept fate but do not be fatalistic; take courage but do not succumb to hubris; to be wise, do not dehumanise; understand passion without wallowing in it; and so on. March skilfully chronicles the evolution of Greek (and briefly Roman) myths through Aeschylus, Euripides, Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, and Ovid. The dissection of the development of different versions is, in itself, fascinating. She also cites modern poets such as Shakespeare, Tennyson, Wordsworth, Byron, and Yeats to illustrate how ancient myths can be meditated upon, retold, and reinterpreted. Beautiful paintings by Klimt, Goya, Ingres, David, and Botticelli are reproduced, though they are not analysed or discussed. I think the highlights are the quotes from the classics, translated by the author herself. They truly tempt me to read the originals in full.

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a long time coming, after weeks of putting it aside for other things and months drudging through a reading slump. In the end, it was a fantastic little tome to dip my feet into the waters of Greek and Roman mythology. On the one hand, I wish there were sections that were longer. There were times when I'd be introduced to no less than twenty new characters I'd never heard of in the span of a page or two, and it was difficult to remember who did what and why. On the other hand, the book is already large enough that adding more detail could have made it a slog to get through. It has done its job of motivating me to learn the depths of these stories, however, and it's quite likely I'll be purchasing some Ovid and Aristophanes soon.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really clear overview of all the Greek classical myths (and their differences to Roman, if there are any).

Easy to devour and read, it’s supported by translations from the original stories by the likes of Ovid and Homer (translations done by the author herself).

Recommend for anyone who wishes to have a great, in-depth but not excessively so, knowledge of the stories they know well…and maybe those they don’t.