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The Greek Myths
Řecké mýty
V této knize naleznete všechny řecké mýty i různé variace na ně. Ke každé kapitole náleží výkladový komentář. Kniha vychází z četných příruček o řeckých mýtech s devatenáctého a dvacátého století.
Soubor mýtů řeckých klasiků a zároveň základní dílo pro studium řecké mytologie. Graves uvádí a komentuje i méně známé verze mýtů. Třebaže je někdy jeho výklad překonaný, jde o soubor, který je v podstatě nepostradatelný. Kromě mýtů a komentářů obsahuje i odkazy na původní prameny – a vzhledem k tomu, že většina děl starých řeckých i římských autorů v českém překladu vyšla, jedná se o dokonale uzavřený kruh.
Soubor mýtů řeckých klasiků a zároveň základní dílo pro studium řecké mytologie. Graves uvádí a komentuje i méně známé verze mýtů. Třebaže je někdy jeho výklad překonaný, jde o soubor, který je v podstatě nepostradatelný. Kromě mýtů a komentářů obsahuje i odkazy na původní prameny – a vzhledem k tomu, že většina děl starých řeckých i římských autorů v českém překladu vyšla, jedná se o dokonale uzavřený kruh.
744 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
1982 people are currently reading
25061 people want to read
About the author
Robert Graves
641 books2,066 followersRobert von Ranke Graves was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. Born in Wimbledon, he received his early education at King's College School and Copthorne Prep School, Wimbledon & Charterhouse School and won a scholarship to St John's College, Oxford. While at Charterhouse in 1912, he fell in love with G.H. Johnstone, a boy of fourteen ("Dick" in Goodbye to All That) When challenged by the headmaster he defended himself by citing Plato, Greek poets, Michelangelo & Shakespeare, "who had felt as I did".
At the outbreak of WWI, Graves enlisted almost immediately, taking a commission in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He published his first volume of poems, Over the Brazier, in 1916. He developed an early reputation as a war poet and was one of the first to write realistic poems about his experience of front line conflict. In later years he omitted war poems from his collections, on the grounds that they were too obviously "part of the war poetry boom". At the Battle of the Somme he was so badly wounded by a shell-fragment through the lung that he was expected to die, and indeed was officially reported as 'died of wounds'. He gradually recovered. Apart from a brief spell back in France, he spent the rest of the war in England.
One of Graves's closest friends at this time was the poet Siegfried Sassoon, who was also an officer in the RWF. In 1917 Sassoon tried to rebel against the war by making a public anti-war statement. Graves, who feared Sassoon could face a court martial, intervened with the military authorities and persuaded them that he was suffering from shell shock, and to treat him accordingly. Graves also suffered from shell shock, or neurasthenia as it is sometimes called, although he was never hospitalised for it.
Biographers document the story well. It is fictionalised in Pat Barker's novel Regeneration. The intensity of their early relationship is nowhere demonstrated more clearly than in Graves's collection Fairies & Fusiliers (1917), which contains a plethora of poems celebrating their friendship. Through Sassoon, he also became friends with Wilfred Owen, whose talent he recognised. Owen attended Graves's wedding to Nancy Nicholson in 1918, presenting him with, as Graves recalled, "a set of 12 Apostle spoons".
Following his marriage and the end of the war, Graves belatedly took up his place at St John's College, Oxford. He later attempted to make a living by running a small shop, but the business failed. In 1926 he took up a post at Cairo University, accompanied by his wife, their children and the poet Laura Riding. He returned to London briefly, where he split with his wife under highly emotional circumstances before leaving to live with Riding in Deià, Majorca. There they continued to publish letterpress books under the rubric of the Seizin Press, founded and edited the literary journal Epilogue, and wrote two successful academic books together: A Survey of Modernist Poetry (1927) and A Pamphlet Against Anthologies (1928).
In 1927, he published Lawrence and the Arabs, a commercially successful biography of T.E. Lawrence. Good-bye to All That (1929, revised and republished in 1957) proved a success but cost him many of his friends, notably Sassoon. In 1934 he published his most commercially successful work, I, Claudius. Using classical sources he constructed a complexly compelling tale of the life of the Roman emperor Claudius, a tale extended in Claudius the God (1935). Another historical novel by Graves, Count Belisarius (1938), recounts the career of the Byzantine general Belisarius.
During the early 1970s Graves began to suffer from increasingly severe memory loss, and by his eightieth birthday in 1975 he had come to the end of his working life. By 1975 he had published more than 140 works. He survived for ten more years in an increasingly dependent condition until he died from heart
At the outbreak of WWI, Graves enlisted almost immediately, taking a commission in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He published his first volume of poems, Over the Brazier, in 1916. He developed an early reputation as a war poet and was one of the first to write realistic poems about his experience of front line conflict. In later years he omitted war poems from his collections, on the grounds that they were too obviously "part of the war poetry boom". At the Battle of the Somme he was so badly wounded by a shell-fragment through the lung that he was expected to die, and indeed was officially reported as 'died of wounds'. He gradually recovered. Apart from a brief spell back in France, he spent the rest of the war in England.
One of Graves's closest friends at this time was the poet Siegfried Sassoon, who was also an officer in the RWF. In 1917 Sassoon tried to rebel against the war by making a public anti-war statement. Graves, who feared Sassoon could face a court martial, intervened with the military authorities and persuaded them that he was suffering from shell shock, and to treat him accordingly. Graves also suffered from shell shock, or neurasthenia as it is sometimes called, although he was never hospitalised for it.
Biographers document the story well. It is fictionalised in Pat Barker's novel Regeneration. The intensity of their early relationship is nowhere demonstrated more clearly than in Graves's collection Fairies & Fusiliers (1917), which contains a plethora of poems celebrating their friendship. Through Sassoon, he also became friends with Wilfred Owen, whose talent he recognised. Owen attended Graves's wedding to Nancy Nicholson in 1918, presenting him with, as Graves recalled, "a set of 12 Apostle spoons".
Following his marriage and the end of the war, Graves belatedly took up his place at St John's College, Oxford. He later attempted to make a living by running a small shop, but the business failed. In 1926 he took up a post at Cairo University, accompanied by his wife, their children and the poet Laura Riding. He returned to London briefly, where he split with his wife under highly emotional circumstances before leaving to live with Riding in Deià, Majorca. There they continued to publish letterpress books under the rubric of the Seizin Press, founded and edited the literary journal Epilogue, and wrote two successful academic books together: A Survey of Modernist Poetry (1927) and A Pamphlet Against Anthologies (1928).
In 1927, he published Lawrence and the Arabs, a commercially successful biography of T.E. Lawrence. Good-bye to All That (1929, revised and republished in 1957) proved a success but cost him many of his friends, notably Sassoon. In 1934 he published his most commercially successful work, I, Claudius. Using classical sources he constructed a complexly compelling tale of the life of the Roman emperor Claudius, a tale extended in Claudius the God (1935). Another historical novel by Graves, Count Belisarius (1938), recounts the career of the Byzantine general Belisarius.
During the early 1970s Graves began to suffer from increasingly severe memory loss, and by his eightieth birthday in 1975 he had come to the end of his working life. By 1975 he had published more than 140 works. He survived for ten more years in an increasingly dependent condition until he died from heart
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 362 reviews
February 1, 2016
This is one of the gems I discovered, and purchased for a pittance, during my professional college days (1980-85).
The old "Current Books" bookshop was an institution in Thrissur. It was located in a very old building, with rows and rows of shelves and books arranged in no particular order. There were rooms leading to rooms leading to rooms, dark and musty rooms filled with the wonderful smell of old books. An ideal place to spend a Saturday afternoon, digging through the piles and piles of jumbled books, your mouth going dry with excitement when a treasure suddenly pops up. Ah, halcyon days.
(Sadly, the shop is no more. The corporation demolished it - rightly - because it was unsafe. They now have an air-conditioned store where the books are arranged alphabetically in neat rows, and you can enquire for a particular tome and it will pop up on the computer. All the luxuries of modernity, but it does not work for me; no sirree.)
One of the saddest pictures in the world - a favourite bookshop in the process of getting demolished.
This was such an opportune find. I did not know who the hell Robert Graves was at the time - I was captivated by the covers of the Penguin India edition (it was in two volumes), and I was nuts over mythology, so I immediately bought it. It opened a whole new vista for me.
Graves analyses mythology in strict historical context. No psychological or philosophical musings here. But his depth and breadth of coverage are fantastic. Each short chapter first presents the story, then analyses it in detail through notes, with secondary references provided wherever required. It is a book to savour at leisure, and justifies multiple readings if you want to get the maximum out of it.
I would recommend it to any fan of mythology.
The old "Current Books" bookshop was an institution in Thrissur. It was located in a very old building, with rows and rows of shelves and books arranged in no particular order. There were rooms leading to rooms leading to rooms, dark and musty rooms filled with the wonderful smell of old books. An ideal place to spend a Saturday afternoon, digging through the piles and piles of jumbled books, your mouth going dry with excitement when a treasure suddenly pops up. Ah, halcyon days.
(Sadly, the shop is no more. The corporation demolished it - rightly - because it was unsafe. They now have an air-conditioned store where the books are arranged alphabetically in neat rows, and you can enquire for a particular tome and it will pop up on the computer. All the luxuries of modernity, but it does not work for me; no sirree.)
One of the saddest pictures in the world - a favourite bookshop in the process of getting demolished.
This was such an opportune find. I did not know who the hell Robert Graves was at the time - I was captivated by the covers of the Penguin India edition (it was in two volumes), and I was nuts over mythology, so I immediately bought it. It opened a whole new vista for me.
Graves analyses mythology in strict historical context. No psychological or philosophical musings here. But his depth and breadth of coverage are fantastic. Each short chapter first presents the story, then analyses it in detail through notes, with secondary references provided wherever required. It is a book to savour at leisure, and justifies multiple readings if you want to get the maximum out of it.
I would recommend it to any fan of mythology.
April 28, 2022
Non so se ci sia qualcuno che conosca la mitologia greca meglio di Graves; dubito però che ci sia un miglior divulgatore.
Questo voluminoso libro è uno studio sistematico dell'evoluzione della mitologia presso l'antica cultura greca.
La scelta espositiva cronologica dà un'affascinante impronta narrativa all'imponente mole di conoscenze raccolte. Viene evitata pertanto la disposizione enciclopedica come mero archivio di nozioni.
Un pregio importante del libro consiste nell'abilità di una scrittura scorrevole, non accademica, che però si associa ad un grande rigore conoscitivo e storico.
L'impressionante vastità e profondità della cultura di Graves fa sì che non solo vengano trattati i principali miti diffusi nell'antica Grecia, ma che trovino spazio anche numerosissimi riferimenti a leggende minori, con indicazioni di rispettivi luoghi geografici e rimandi a realtà archeologiche o siti d'interesse mitologico.
Il testo è arricchito da note utilissime, come assai utili sono le pagine finali con l'elenco in ordine alfabetico dei nomi e l'indicazione delle relative pagine di riferimento ; ciò permette l'agevole utilizzo del libro anche come testo di consultazione.
Questo voluminoso libro è uno studio sistematico dell'evoluzione della mitologia presso l'antica cultura greca.
La scelta espositiva cronologica dà un'affascinante impronta narrativa all'imponente mole di conoscenze raccolte. Viene evitata pertanto la disposizione enciclopedica come mero archivio di nozioni.
Un pregio importante del libro consiste nell'abilità di una scrittura scorrevole, non accademica, che però si associa ad un grande rigore conoscitivo e storico.
L'impressionante vastità e profondità della cultura di Graves fa sì che non solo vengano trattati i principali miti diffusi nell'antica Grecia, ma che trovino spazio anche numerosissimi riferimenti a leggende minori, con indicazioni di rispettivi luoghi geografici e rimandi a realtà archeologiche o siti d'interesse mitologico.
Il testo è arricchito da note utilissime, come assai utili sono le pagine finali con l'elenco in ordine alfabetico dei nomi e l'indicazione delle relative pagine di riferimento ; ciò permette l'agevole utilizzo del libro anche come testo di consultazione.
February 12, 2021
This was a great overview of Greek myth- it delves quickly into the gods and the heroes, as well as some other characters. As this is an overview it does not include ALL Greek myth, but the main ones that are quite popular.
My only issue was that this book really delves into family lines but didn’t have family tree diagrams to accompany this, leaving me sometimes confused as to who is who/ how someone is related.
This was interesting as I learned some new things and was able to make some connections between the family lines, or names I had heard from other retellings of the myth- I loved discovering something new!
In all my years living near London/going into London, I have never visited the British Museum- this edition contained photos of relics from Ancient Greece depicting these myths and stories, available to be seen at the museum. I must go at some point !! (Once COVID and lockdown eases in the UK ... 🌝 ).
My only issue was that this book really delves into family lines but didn’t have family tree diagrams to accompany this, leaving me sometimes confused as to who is who/ how someone is related.
This was interesting as I learned some new things and was able to make some connections between the family lines, or names I had heard from other retellings of the myth- I loved discovering something new!
In all my years living near London/going into London, I have never visited the British Museum- this edition contained photos of relics from Ancient Greece depicting these myths and stories, available to be seen at the museum. I must go at some point !! (Once COVID and lockdown eases in the UK ... 🌝 ).
Read
May 5, 2023Back in 1972 I took a humanity score at college, and this is the book that we read. While I learned things from it I didn't find it very exciting. In fact, I have never liked this from any country or people. I don't even like the blue book of fairy tales.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2022
This is quite honestly the BEST Greek myths compendium ever written. It's always been my favourite, and it always shall be. :)
November 14, 2022
Reading this book was as much a depressing trial as an amazing adventure.
It was a trial, because it is by no means a piece of light literature. Of course, certain amount of gore is to be expected, but my early age experiences with Irena and Jan Parandowski’s renderings of Greek myths into Polish did not fully prepare me for the extent, intensity and denseness of violence, incest, torture, betrayal, and general human irrationality that is present in Graves’s detailed compendium.
It was a great adventure, because – whatever you think of Graves’s obsessive myth interpretations – his work on the actual body of Greek mythology is absolutely stunning. Thanks to his extensive readings in Classical literature, he brought together a great wealth of knowledge and provided detailed references to his sources. If you want to know your Greek mythology but don’t feel like learning ancient languages and reading all Classical writings, this is your next best thing to go to.
Graves’s commentary is a different thing. His lifetime obsession with the Great Goddess is transparent there, and he interprets nearly every single motif as a hidden rendering of her cult. I’m not saying that none of the things he wrote on the subject are correct – some are likely to be – but his bias is strong to the point of being absurd, and his comments are generally not very reliable, to say the least. But it is easily remedied – if you ignore the comments, you are left with an incredibly impressive work!
It was a trial, because it is by no means a piece of light literature. Of course, certain amount of gore is to be expected, but my early age experiences with Irena and Jan Parandowski’s renderings of Greek myths into Polish did not fully prepare me for the extent, intensity and denseness of violence, incest, torture, betrayal, and general human irrationality that is present in Graves’s detailed compendium.
It was a great adventure, because – whatever you think of Graves’s obsessive myth interpretations – his work on the actual body of Greek mythology is absolutely stunning. Thanks to his extensive readings in Classical literature, he brought together a great wealth of knowledge and provided detailed references to his sources. If you want to know your Greek mythology but don’t feel like learning ancient languages and reading all Classical writings, this is your next best thing to go to.
Graves’s commentary is a different thing. His lifetime obsession with the Great Goddess is transparent there, and he interprets nearly every single motif as a hidden rendering of her cult. I’m not saying that none of the things he wrote on the subject are correct – some are likely to be – but his bias is strong to the point of being absurd, and his comments are generally not very reliable, to say the least. But it is easily remedied – if you ignore the comments, you are left with an incredibly impressive work!
April 27, 2025
Il libro di Graves è un testo corposo, enciclopedico, che raccoglie tutti i miti greci divisi in 171 schede. A corredo ci sono poi le idee di Graves sulle origini dei miti, con un'impronta soprattutto storica. Non ho la competenza per sapere se le sue teorie sono valide, di certo però sono molto affascinanti e divulgate in modo eccellente. La sua completezza e le tante e utilissime note che arricchiscono il testo lo hanno reso il saggio per eccellenza sulla mitologia greca. Un libro da consultazione o da assaporare ogni giorno a piccole dosi.
September 14, 2017
3.5 Stars - Great book
This book is great for someone who's interested in Greek myths, as the title may imply (or scream). This book is not a commentary on or a history of the myths. It is simply the myths, wonderfully organized and beautifully told.
As someone who loves order, the organization of this book is a dream. Graves divided the book into seven sections and within those sections he titles every myth. This is all laid out in the table of contents. Only want to read about Io? Or The Vengeance of Orestes? No problem, just find it in the contents and and get reading. This also means that you can pick and choose what you want to read without having to flip through the whole book - ideal for people only interested in certain characters/myths.
One of my favorite sections is the very first one, which Graves calls In the Beginning. As the name implies, this section deals with the creation of the universe and the big, or main, gods and goddesses. I found it interesting to think about and compare the few different creation myths. Graves includes the Pelasgian, Homeric and Orphic, and Olympian creation myths. My personal favorite is Homeric and Orphic myth in large part because of the character of Night. The character is so beautifully written that I wanted a whole story about her! I also want to note that I will always love the story of the birth of Aphrodite. It's pretty hard not to picture Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (most consider Venus the Roman equivalent to Aphrodite).
Be warned, there is a whole lot of incest going on . It's weird and it will never not be weird.
One of the biggest surprises I found while reading was the story Deucalion's Flood. In short, it's Noah's Ark before there was Noah's Ark. Makes you wonder how original that bible story is.
One last comment, I found it interesting to think about whether or not these myths influenced morality - or at least tried to influence it. Certain stories seemed to be pushing a certain point of view (as many stories do) on the reader. Just some food for thought.
I will say that some of the myths, in my opinion, are rather dull. However it helps that the myths are short. I think the longest one was about 5 pages long, so it makes for a quick read nonetheless.
Do I recommend? Yes. I think most people can find some part of this book that they'd enjoy.
This book is great for someone who's interested in Greek myths, as the title may imply (or scream). This book is not a commentary on or a history of the myths. It is simply the myths, wonderfully organized and beautifully told.
As someone who loves order, the organization of this book is a dream. Graves divided the book into seven sections and within those sections he titles every myth. This is all laid out in the table of contents. Only want to read about Io? Or The Vengeance of Orestes? No problem, just find it in the contents and and get reading. This also means that you can pick and choose what you want to read without having to flip through the whole book - ideal for people only interested in certain characters/myths.
One of my favorite sections is the very first one, which Graves calls In the Beginning. As the name implies, this section deals with the creation of the universe and the big, or main, gods and goddesses. I found it interesting to think about and compare the few different creation myths. Graves includes the Pelasgian, Homeric and Orphic, and Olympian creation myths. My personal favorite is Homeric and Orphic myth in large part because of the character of Night. The character is so beautifully written that I wanted a whole story about her! I also want to note that I will always love the story of the birth of Aphrodite. It's pretty hard not to picture Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (most consider Venus the Roman equivalent to Aphrodite).
Be warned, there is a whole lot of incest going on . It's weird and it will never not be weird.
One of the biggest surprises I found while reading was the story Deucalion's Flood. In short, it's Noah's Ark before there was Noah's Ark. Makes you wonder how original that bible story is.
One last comment, I found it interesting to think about whether or not these myths influenced morality - or at least tried to influence it. Certain stories seemed to be pushing a certain point of view (as many stories do) on the reader. Just some food for thought.
I will say that some of the myths, in my opinion, are rather dull. However it helps that the myths are short. I think the longest one was about 5 pages long, so it makes for a quick read nonetheless.
Do I recommend? Yes. I think most people can find some part of this book that they'd enjoy.
January 12, 2010
There are several pros and cons to this book.
Pros: It’s very comprehensive in that it covers just about all the Greek mythology.
Cons: It’s very focused towards the academic. Each myth is told a break neck speed with a bare bones of story followed by a list or sources and then a list of how the myth came to be with interpretations of historical events/persons basically and entomology. This would be an invaluable tool to an academic but as some one who only wanted to read and enjoy the stories I skipped all that and consequently probably only read half the near 750 pages.
Also, in order to be academic each character is given their lineage which in a cast of thousands becomes tiresome. Also each possible source is given a brief mention which becomes again, tiresome. For example Graves might write a couple of paragraphs describing how a character murdered a king with a spear, married his wife and begat several children. He then has a paragraph where he adds “others say”, or “it’s said elsewhere” that it was in fact the named character that killed the king or if he did it was with a bow and arrow, or that it was the kings wife who killed him and then killed the named character and was then turned into an olive tree as punishment by the Gods. Graves should be confident enough in his research/translations to just present the story as he believes it unfolded.
All in all I wish the stories could have been more entertainingly told with some effort towards dialogue etc but that would mean the book would probably be 3000+ pages! As I said previously with this being aimed at the academic I guess it’s not quite the book for those who just want to enjoy the highly entertaining stories that mythology represents.
Pros: It’s very comprehensive in that it covers just about all the Greek mythology.
Cons: It’s very focused towards the academic. Each myth is told a break neck speed with a bare bones of story followed by a list or sources and then a list of how the myth came to be with interpretations of historical events/persons basically and entomology. This would be an invaluable tool to an academic but as some one who only wanted to read and enjoy the stories I skipped all that and consequently probably only read half the near 750 pages.
Also, in order to be academic each character is given their lineage which in a cast of thousands becomes tiresome. Also each possible source is given a brief mention which becomes again, tiresome. For example Graves might write a couple of paragraphs describing how a character murdered a king with a spear, married his wife and begat several children. He then has a paragraph where he adds “others say”, or “it’s said elsewhere” that it was in fact the named character that killed the king or if he did it was with a bow and arrow, or that it was the kings wife who killed him and then killed the named character and was then turned into an olive tree as punishment by the Gods. Graves should be confident enough in his research/translations to just present the story as he believes it unfolded.
All in all I wish the stories could have been more entertainingly told with some effort towards dialogue etc but that would mean the book would probably be 3000+ pages! As I said previously with this being aimed at the academic I guess it’s not quite the book for those who just want to enjoy the highly entertaining stories that mythology represents.
January 10, 2023
The monotheistic god: "Serves you, humans, right!". The Greek gods: jealous, treacherous, deceitful, seldom forgiving but maintaining a balance of power, powerful women, beautiful youths, constantly feuding, bearing prophecy, suffering from prophecy fulfilled, one-eye always pointed towards their family members, taking sides in human wars, ever-watchful lest the humans aspire to divinity, no heaven, no hell, only immortality, and constant danger, full of passion in love, hate, envy, forever changing yet painting a purity of essence. Robert Graves has translated and collected the chief Greek myths and extracted their fancy stories and moral lessons in one exciting volume. If you look at the Greek gods, instead of the Abrahamic, you are looking at yourself.
September 5, 2010
Robert Graves “The Greek Myths” is a wonderful resource for learning about the myths of ancient Greece. Originally published in 1955, it was updated for the last time in 1960. There are two volumes, but they are often available in a single book, which makes it easier for the reader to handle. Graves does a wonderful job of making the myths easy to read and understand, and discusses the variations which often occurred in the myths. His interpretation of the myths is a bit subjective, so the reader needs to treat that aspect as such.
The volumes can be used in different ways. One of the more useful ways is as a reference for learning about references to Greek Mythology. The table of contents provides 171 different myth titles to choose from, but if that doesn’t help you find a particular reference, the index at the end of the second volume will help you locate the relevant myths that touch upon a particular name or subject.
A second way to use the book is to simply browse until you find a myth that interests you and spend some time reading about it and its variations. Each myth is explained in clear English and divided into paragraphs relating to each of the ancient Greek works which mention the myths. These ancient references are then listed which easily provides the reader the information they need to do further investigation. Lastly, additional notes are included which help to better understand the myths and put them into an historical perspective, though again this is not necessarily factual as much as it is supposition on the part of Graves.
Another way to use this book is to simply read it to gain an overall understanding of Greek myths. I would say this book doesn’t work as well in this way as it does in the prior ways. The myths are intentionally split apart to better focus on the individual parts and so it doesn’t flow. In addition, many of the myths have multiple versions and Graves discusses many of these variations which also interfere with treating this book like a story book. In addition the links to references and the material added to better understand the myths which are so useful for treating this as a reference, definitely get in the way of telling the story. All that being said, you can still use the book in this way, it is just not the optimum format and there may be better books out there for this purpose.
I have found this book to be very useful over the years. It is very helpful when doing research, but also good for a diversion when one wants to look at one particular myth. Some may not care for Graves personal input on the myths, but I think it is a useful perspective even if one doesn’t agree with his conclusions. Though not perfect, this book still rates five stars in my opinion.
The volumes can be used in different ways. One of the more useful ways is as a reference for learning about references to Greek Mythology. The table of contents provides 171 different myth titles to choose from, but if that doesn’t help you find a particular reference, the index at the end of the second volume will help you locate the relevant myths that touch upon a particular name or subject.
A second way to use the book is to simply browse until you find a myth that interests you and spend some time reading about it and its variations. Each myth is explained in clear English and divided into paragraphs relating to each of the ancient Greek works which mention the myths. These ancient references are then listed which easily provides the reader the information they need to do further investigation. Lastly, additional notes are included which help to better understand the myths and put them into an historical perspective, though again this is not necessarily factual as much as it is supposition on the part of Graves.
Another way to use this book is to simply read it to gain an overall understanding of Greek myths. I would say this book doesn’t work as well in this way as it does in the prior ways. The myths are intentionally split apart to better focus on the individual parts and so it doesn’t flow. In addition, many of the myths have multiple versions and Graves discusses many of these variations which also interfere with treating this book like a story book. In addition the links to references and the material added to better understand the myths which are so useful for treating this as a reference, definitely get in the way of telling the story. All that being said, you can still use the book in this way, it is just not the optimum format and there may be better books out there for this purpose.
I have found this book to be very useful over the years. It is very helpful when doing research, but also good for a diversion when one wants to look at one particular myth. Some may not care for Graves personal input on the myths, but I think it is a useful perspective even if one doesn’t agree with his conclusions. Though not perfect, this book still rates five stars in my opinion.
September 7, 2021
Vale assolutamente la pena di leggerlo, nonostante la lunghezza. Dei, eroi e uomini sono continuamente in relazione, in amore, in guerra, generando un complicatissimo albero genealogico della nostra società.
Se devo fare un appunto alla versione audio devo dire che l'attore, per me, ha letto un po' troppo velocemente. Certi passaggi sono volati via prima che avessi il tempo di capire come si collocavano rispetto alle infomrazini precedenti.
Di sicuro è una lettura impegnativa, ben più approfondita dei racconti più famosi che siamo abituati a leggere.
Se devo fare un appunto alla versione audio devo dire che l'attore, per me, ha letto un po' troppo velocemente. Certi passaggi sono volati via prima che avessi il tempo di capire come si collocavano rispetto alle infomrazini precedenti.
Di sicuro è una lettura impegnativa, ben più approfondita dei racconti più famosi che siamo abituati a leggere.
May 18, 2019
I'm really surprised this book has such high ratings, because it is completely bonkers. This book is a weird combination of extremely thorough mythology encyclopedia and bizarre conspiracy theories concocted by the author. The myths themselves are great, although they are more like encyclopedia entries than stories. But given the vastness of the Greek mythological corpus, I think that's the only way to do it if you want to squeeze all of the myths into one book.
Each chapter is about 50% myth and 50% Robert Graves' analysis of the myth. Robert Graves believes in some really weird things, like that pre-Hellenic Greece was a matriarchal society that believed in a "Mother Goddess" or "Triple Goddess" that was common to all Eastern Mediterranean worship. Most of the rapes of early Greek myth can be explained by the invading Hellenes conquering goddess shrines, according to Graves. Graves also claims that in pre-Hellenic Greece, kings' rules were limited to solar cycles (such as one year, or 'great years' of 4 or 19 years, when the moon and sun are in greater alignment), and rule was divided between a sacred king and a 'tanist' (an earthly king), who were often in competition. And at the end of their reign, the sacred king had to be sacrificed (there was apparently a lot of human sacrifice in pre-Hellenic Greece); eventually, substitutes were found for the king (such as his children).
These beliefs actually would account for a lot of the repeating oddities of Greek mythology. For example, why are there so many examples of women laying with a god and with their husband at around the same time and then bearing twins, one divine and one mortal? For example, Heracles and Iphicles, Castor and Polydeuces, and Eteocles and Polyneices are just three of many examples. Graves explains this as being the sacred king and his tanist.
Why are there so many examples of people dying by drowning in water? (King Aegeus, father of Theseus, jumping into the Aegean Sea and Icarus falling into the Icarian Sea are two of MANY examples). Of kings being killed by their son with a discus (Perseus is one of several). Of kings being bitten by serpents on the heel (Achilles is one of many)? Why are so many children sacrificed or killed? (Heracles murdering his 6 children by Megara; Agamemnon sacrificing Iphigenia; Cepheus and Cassiopeia sacrificing Andromeda; and about a million other examples). Why are so many kings killed by their sons? (Odysseus by Telegonus, Agamemnon by Orestes, and Laius by Oedipus are just the tip of the iceburg).
Graves explains these via his theory that ancient kings were sacrificed at the end of their term (which is why so many sons kill their fathers in Greek myth), or that ancient kings could sacrifice substitutes to extend their terms (which is why so many kings sacrifice their children). Apparently the ancient Greeks loved to sacrifice people by throwing them off of cliffs. He also explains many myths via misreadings of ancient icons (for example, the discus that kills kings is actually a sun-disk representing the length of their term, according to Graves).
Why do certain numbers appear so frequently in Greek myth? For example, triads of women - the 3 Fates, the 3 Erinnyes, the 3 Graeae, the triad of Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena coming to Paris; the triad of Core, Demeter, and Persephone; and many, many more surprisingly subtle triads that pop up throughout Greek myth. According to Graves, these are all manifestations of the ancient "Triple Goddess" who appears as Virgin, Nymph, and Crone.
Why are there so many sets of 50 siblings? (The Danaids, the Nereids, and the Menae are three examples). Because there were colleges of 50 priestesses, who represented something like the 50 months of a "great year" of a king's term in office... yep.
Why are there often sets of 350? (Helios's herd of 350 cattle; Heracles losing 350 men of Cleonae in battle). Because 350 represents the number of days in the Egyptian calendar besides the 5 devoted to the gods (and a year was the length of a king's term in office).
Graves has a lot of other intriguing but also totally nuts but kind of plausible theories. Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus represent to him "three successive Hellenic invasions, commonly known as Ionian, Aeolian, and Achaean." "Hera’s forced marriage to Zeus commemorates conquests of Crete and Mycenaean—that is to say Cretanized—Greece, and the overthrow of her supremacy in both countries. He probably came to her disguised as a bedraggled cuckoo, in the sense that certain Hellenes who came to Crete as fugitives accepted employment in the royal guard, made a palace conspiracy and seized the kingdom." "It is plain that the Ionian Pelasgians of Athens were defeated by the Aeolians, and that Athene regained her sovereignty only by alliance with Zeus’s Achaeans, who later made her disown Poseidon’s paternity and admit herself reborn from Zeus’s head." And it goes on and on.
I think the book is better than 2 stars, since the myths alone are great. But the weird theories, while interesting, are a waste of time (given that they probably take up like 300 pages of the book at least), and I wish I had known that I would be wasting my time reading so many conspiracy theories before starting this book.
Each chapter is about 50% myth and 50% Robert Graves' analysis of the myth. Robert Graves believes in some really weird things, like that pre-Hellenic Greece was a matriarchal society that believed in a "Mother Goddess" or "Triple Goddess" that was common to all Eastern Mediterranean worship. Most of the rapes of early Greek myth can be explained by the invading Hellenes conquering goddess shrines, according to Graves. Graves also claims that in pre-Hellenic Greece, kings' rules were limited to solar cycles (such as one year, or 'great years' of 4 or 19 years, when the moon and sun are in greater alignment), and rule was divided between a sacred king and a 'tanist' (an earthly king), who were often in competition. And at the end of their reign, the sacred king had to be sacrificed (there was apparently a lot of human sacrifice in pre-Hellenic Greece); eventually, substitutes were found for the king (such as his children).
These beliefs actually would account for a lot of the repeating oddities of Greek mythology. For example, why are there so many examples of women laying with a god and with their husband at around the same time and then bearing twins, one divine and one mortal? For example, Heracles and Iphicles, Castor and Polydeuces, and Eteocles and Polyneices are just three of many examples. Graves explains this as being the sacred king and his tanist.
Why are there so many examples of people dying by drowning in water? (King Aegeus, father of Theseus, jumping into the Aegean Sea and Icarus falling into the Icarian Sea are two of MANY examples). Of kings being killed by their son with a discus (Perseus is one of several). Of kings being bitten by serpents on the heel (Achilles is one of many)? Why are so many children sacrificed or killed? (Heracles murdering his 6 children by Megara; Agamemnon sacrificing Iphigenia; Cepheus and Cassiopeia sacrificing Andromeda; and about a million other examples). Why are so many kings killed by their sons? (Odysseus by Telegonus, Agamemnon by Orestes, and Laius by Oedipus are just the tip of the iceburg).
Graves explains these via his theory that ancient kings were sacrificed at the end of their term (which is why so many sons kill their fathers in Greek myth), or that ancient kings could sacrifice substitutes to extend their terms (which is why so many kings sacrifice their children). Apparently the ancient Greeks loved to sacrifice people by throwing them off of cliffs. He also explains many myths via misreadings of ancient icons (for example, the discus that kills kings is actually a sun-disk representing the length of their term, according to Graves).
Why do certain numbers appear so frequently in Greek myth? For example, triads of women - the 3 Fates, the 3 Erinnyes, the 3 Graeae, the triad of Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena coming to Paris; the triad of Core, Demeter, and Persephone; and many, many more surprisingly subtle triads that pop up throughout Greek myth. According to Graves, these are all manifestations of the ancient "Triple Goddess" who appears as Virgin, Nymph, and Crone.
Why are there so many sets of 50 siblings? (The Danaids, the Nereids, and the Menae are three examples). Because there were colleges of 50 priestesses, who represented something like the 50 months of a "great year" of a king's term in office... yep.
Why are there often sets of 350? (Helios's herd of 350 cattle; Heracles losing 350 men of Cleonae in battle). Because 350 represents the number of days in the Egyptian calendar besides the 5 devoted to the gods (and a year was the length of a king's term in office).
Graves has a lot of other intriguing but also totally nuts but kind of plausible theories. Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus represent to him "three successive Hellenic invasions, commonly known as Ionian, Aeolian, and Achaean." "Hera’s forced marriage to Zeus commemorates conquests of Crete and Mycenaean—that is to say Cretanized—Greece, and the overthrow of her supremacy in both countries. He probably came to her disguised as a bedraggled cuckoo, in the sense that certain Hellenes who came to Crete as fugitives accepted employment in the royal guard, made a palace conspiracy and seized the kingdom." "It is plain that the Ionian Pelasgians of Athens were defeated by the Aeolians, and that Athene regained her sovereignty only by alliance with Zeus’s Achaeans, who later made her disown Poseidon’s paternity and admit herself reborn from Zeus’s head." And it goes on and on.
I think the book is better than 2 stars, since the myths alone are great. But the weird theories, while interesting, are a waste of time (given that they probably take up like 300 pages of the book at least), and I wish I had known that I would be wasting my time reading so many conspiracy theories before starting this book.
October 9, 2017
Robert Graves is quite thorough in writing about the myths and at the end of each story, he provides foot notes that can be as long as the story itself.
Some of the footnotes are speculative. "This god replaced an earlier pagan god etc.". It is difficult to know these things or the origins of any of these stories. But Graves gives his educated guesses and they are worth pondering.
In Graves' version the myths are not child friendly and a lot more graphic than I remember Edith Hamilton's version. I have not read Hamilton's version in many years, so I suppose I could be wrong. She also includes stories that Graves leaves out.
Graves seems to lean heavily on saga, which I appreciated since I recently read the Iliad and the Odyssey. He also fills in the gaps those two poems leave, letting us know how the Trojan War began and what happened to some of the key players such as Achilles, who is alive in the Iliad, but already dead in the Odyssey.
I do not know if Robert Graves has a certain predilection towards the salacious (his books, I, Claudius and Claudius the God were pretty lewd) or if he is simply preserving a faithful translation of the stories. He has been criticized for relying too heavily on Suetonius' histories, who is also known for creating scandals that are not as historically reliable as they should be.
Simply put, The Greek Myths Volume One and Two , are filled with violence and perversion. Every single story contains murder and rape. No Greek hero is exempt from practicing treachery, adultery, and, in one instance, necrophilia. Leaving children out for exposure was common. Many of the heroes were spared from an early death by compassionate shepherds, or even female animals who nursed them.
Women are treated savagely by men, and especially Zeus who ravaged the countryside without mercy.
These women were not only the victims of this heinous crime but they also got to be punished for it by the ever jealous Hera.
The female goddesses were not much better than the gods. Both male and female gods' sense of justice was based largely on caprice and selfish ambition. There seemed to be very little reason other than a cruel nature behind any of their actions.
Ancient Greece is known for being the intellectual epicenter of the B.C. epoch, but I have to conclude that these myths, as Robert Graves tells them, were formed during a much earlier time when the Greeks were no more than tribal barbarians steeped in pagan practice that by today's standards of morality seem demonic.
December 14, 2025
Oldukça kapsamlı bir referans kitabı. Graves, bir mitin farklı versiyonlarını toplayıp alt alta sıralamış ve hangi yazarın (Ovidius, Homeros vb.) hangi versiyonu anlattığını not etmiş. Her bölümün sonunda Graves'in teorilerini ve etimolojik çıkarımlarını içeren yorumları var. Graves, tüm Yunan mitolojisini neredeyse bir teoriye indirgemiş: Görece eski, barışçıl, anaerkil (Tanrıça kültü) bir toplumun, ataerkil (Zeus-Baba kültü) istilacılar tarafından yıkılması. Ona göre her mit, bu "anaerkil-ataerkil" çatışmasının bir alegorisi. Bir bitkiyi, hayvanı veya ritüeli bu teoriye uydurmak için bazen sınırları zorlamış.
January 12, 2022
L'opera definitiva sulla mitologia greca, per riscoprire la nostra identità primigenia di popolo del Mediterraneo.
Consiglio di leggere i miti in successione cronologica piuttosto che in ordine sparso, in quanto l'autore parte dalle origini del mito e approda alla sua massima espressione, l'epica omerica.
La parte più accattivante è quella delle note esegetiche del mito, in cui Graves offre una sua chiave di lettura singolare - e ritenuta dai detrattori dell'autore troppo fantasiosa - ma veramente sorprendente.
A mio modesto avviso, decisamente un must have nella propria biblioteca.
Consiglio di leggere i miti in successione cronologica piuttosto che in ordine sparso, in quanto l'autore parte dalle origini del mito e approda alla sua massima espressione, l'epica omerica.
La parte più accattivante è quella delle note esegetiche del mito, in cui Graves offre una sua chiave di lettura singolare - e ritenuta dai detrattori dell'autore troppo fantasiosa - ma veramente sorprendente.
A mio modesto avviso, decisamente un must have nella propria biblioteca.
June 6, 2021
O lume populata de personaje fabuloase, nascocite de oameni, spre zugravirea si nemurirea oamenilor, in cautare de viata vesnica.
Familii, iubiri si dezamagiri, izbanzi si esecuri, copii si bastarzi.
Grecii au stiut ca ne putem eterniza doar prin creatie, imaginatie si inventivitate.
Un Pantheon ia nastere si dainuie doar prin studiu.
Cu cat suntem mai curiosi sa aflam cu atat templul dainuie mai mult.
Radacinile sunt aceleasi, ramurile cresc mai mult sau mai putin...
Familii, iubiri si dezamagiri, izbanzi si esecuri, copii si bastarzi.
Grecii au stiut ca ne putem eterniza doar prin creatie, imaginatie si inventivitate.
Un Pantheon ia nastere si dainuie doar prin studiu.
Cu cat suntem mai curiosi sa aflam cu atat templul dainuie mai mult.
Radacinile sunt aceleasi, ramurile cresc mai mult sau mai putin...
October 3, 2011
If you plan to read Homer's The Iliad or The Odyssey, or any of the great plays of the Greek classicists, I have a suggestion for a book that will prove to be indispensable to you on your journey through these great works of literature. Robert Graves (1895-1985), the British poet, translator and novelist, produced some 140 works. He is probably best known for his novel, I Claudius, and his historical study of poetic inspiration, The White Goddess. In the late-1950s, he also completed a two-volume compilation and analysis of Greek mythology. In this posting, I am reviewing the 1992 Penguin soft-cover edition entitled, The Greek Myths--Complete Edition. It is encyclopedic in content, organization and structure, as well as size as it is nearly 800 pages in length. It is my humble opinion that this really may be the very best desk reference on Greek mythology that is available. I did quite a lot of research, on-line and in the bookstores, before I made the decision to buy a copy of Graves' book, and I really couldn't be more satisfied.
Graves starts off, rightly so, with the early Pelasgian creation myths that tell the stories of the creation of the Universe, the Titans, Titanesses, and the first man, Pelasgus. Graves compares the early Pelasgian creation myths with the later Homeric, Orphic, and Olympian creation myths, and from there the reader is 'off to the races.' Graves takes each myth--from the Creation through Odysseus' homecoming at the end of The Odyssey--and provides a synopsis of all of the variations, includes a comprehensive set of bibliographic citations associated with the source(s) for each myth and its variations, and then follows that up with detailed set of explanatory notes and comments. Frankly, it is just this organizational structure that makes this book priceless, in my opinion. Now, does the book lend itself to sitting down and reading it straight through, cover-to-cover? No, not particularly. I did, but then I wanted to read each myth--all 171 of them--as some of them I wasn't familiar with at all. Having done that though, I can honestly say that I am completely convinced that Graves' organizational scheme in this reference book is nothing short of brilliant. I am also completely comfortable navigating my way around the book, starting from either the table of contents or index, reading the actual myth(s), the source citations, and then exploring Graves' notes and comments. In summation, I'd say that Graves has taken a scholarly approach in his presentation of the myths, documenting sources, and with his explanatory notes and commentary. Having said that though, I also maintain that this is still an enjoyable and eminently readable book, and one that you could pick up and open to any page and start reading and just lose yourself for an hour or two.
There's another fascinating aspect of this work that I want to highlight. While Graves, in this volume, has collected and compiled the myths and stories of the ancient Greeks, he is obviously very interested in the genesis and spread of these myths through time and across cultural boundaries. Consequently, Graves spends a lot of time and commentary on an etymological analysis of words (no matter how arcane or archaic) in establishing relationships between, for example, some of the creation myths emanating from Sumer (e.g., the Epic of Gilgamesh), or the variations of similar myths found in Celtic regions of western Europe. This makes sense to me too; as peoples, with their customs, beliefs and ideas, were surely moving about and interacting with one another. Now, whether one buys into all of the notions put forth by Graves in his commentaries, I'll leave that up to each reader to make up his or her mind, but I think he's on to something here--like I said, it just seems to make sense.
I think that the myths of ancient Greece are important, and will continue to be. They are some of the foundational building blocks of much of the great literature, art, and music that we all love and appreciate today; and, as such, they are an important part of our cultural and spiritual heritage as human beings. They continue to provide artistic and philosophical inspiration to us in our lives, from the likes of John Keats' great poems Endymion and Lamia, or the Daphnis et Chloe ballet musical score by Maurice Ravel, to graphical renditions of Agamemnon's murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra, such as that by the Pre-Raphaelite painter John Collier. Graves' The Greek Myths--Complete Edition will help you make sense of these daily encounters with Greek mythology, and I hope will leave you looking for more. I highly recommend having a copy of Graves' book on your bookshelf, right next to your dictionary, thesaurus, style guides, and poetry anthologies. Its a keeper! As the inveterate bibliophile that I am, I am now on the lookout for a hardbound copy of this wonderful book in two volumes, as it was originally published.
Graves starts off, rightly so, with the early Pelasgian creation myths that tell the stories of the creation of the Universe, the Titans, Titanesses, and the first man, Pelasgus. Graves compares the early Pelasgian creation myths with the later Homeric, Orphic, and Olympian creation myths, and from there the reader is 'off to the races.' Graves takes each myth--from the Creation through Odysseus' homecoming at the end of The Odyssey--and provides a synopsis of all of the variations, includes a comprehensive set of bibliographic citations associated with the source(s) for each myth and its variations, and then follows that up with detailed set of explanatory notes and comments. Frankly, it is just this organizational structure that makes this book priceless, in my opinion. Now, does the book lend itself to sitting down and reading it straight through, cover-to-cover? No, not particularly. I did, but then I wanted to read each myth--all 171 of them--as some of them I wasn't familiar with at all. Having done that though, I can honestly say that I am completely convinced that Graves' organizational scheme in this reference book is nothing short of brilliant. I am also completely comfortable navigating my way around the book, starting from either the table of contents or index, reading the actual myth(s), the source citations, and then exploring Graves' notes and comments. In summation, I'd say that Graves has taken a scholarly approach in his presentation of the myths, documenting sources, and with his explanatory notes and commentary. Having said that though, I also maintain that this is still an enjoyable and eminently readable book, and one that you could pick up and open to any page and start reading and just lose yourself for an hour or two.
There's another fascinating aspect of this work that I want to highlight. While Graves, in this volume, has collected and compiled the myths and stories of the ancient Greeks, he is obviously very interested in the genesis and spread of these myths through time and across cultural boundaries. Consequently, Graves spends a lot of time and commentary on an etymological analysis of words (no matter how arcane or archaic) in establishing relationships between, for example, some of the creation myths emanating from Sumer (e.g., the Epic of Gilgamesh), or the variations of similar myths found in Celtic regions of western Europe. This makes sense to me too; as peoples, with their customs, beliefs and ideas, were surely moving about and interacting with one another. Now, whether one buys into all of the notions put forth by Graves in his commentaries, I'll leave that up to each reader to make up his or her mind, but I think he's on to something here--like I said, it just seems to make sense.
I think that the myths of ancient Greece are important, and will continue to be. They are some of the foundational building blocks of much of the great literature, art, and music that we all love and appreciate today; and, as such, they are an important part of our cultural and spiritual heritage as human beings. They continue to provide artistic and philosophical inspiration to us in our lives, from the likes of John Keats' great poems Endymion and Lamia, or the Daphnis et Chloe ballet musical score by Maurice Ravel, to graphical renditions of Agamemnon's murder at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra, such as that by the Pre-Raphaelite painter John Collier. Graves' The Greek Myths--Complete Edition will help you make sense of these daily encounters with Greek mythology, and I hope will leave you looking for more. I highly recommend having a copy of Graves' book on your bookshelf, right next to your dictionary, thesaurus, style guides, and poetry anthologies. Its a keeper! As the inveterate bibliophile that I am, I am now on the lookout for a hardbound copy of this wonderful book in two volumes, as it was originally published.
August 1, 2016
If you read this is some kind of "fiction book" could be fine. But as a manual to mythology is just awful, there are many inaccuracies (like distorting myths of seduction into sexual rapes). If you want to learn about Greek Mythology this is not the book. I remember reading this some years ago, and after I kept on reading other books and studies I realized how badly taught I was by Graves book.
Read it with caution.
Read it with caution.
December 24, 2025
Una recopilación fantástica de los principales mitos griegos, más que recomendable para aprender de una forma amena sobre los principales dioses y héroes clásicos. Quizas un poco confusa en algunas partes, pero es comprensible dado que los mitos clásicos son complejos de por si.
April 8, 2025
Estupendo. Ideal para cualquier tipo de conocimiento mitológico. Se hace muy ameno e instructivo.
June 30, 2012
Opera affatto didascalica o pedante, è corredata da note preziose che uniscono la mitologia greca a quella micenea ed aria.
Pur essendo improntata a una ormai superata concezione antropologica e storico-religiosa di un primevo matriarcato, la classifico tra gli imperdibili perchè narra in toto la mitologia dell'Ellade, la quale, a sua volta, altro non è che la trasposizione, onirica e quindi immaginifica, delle paure, dei desideri e delle esigenze del nostro inconscio.
Feedback da A.
Non è che all'inizio volevi dire "niente affatto"?
Ubmr ha detto il Mar 22, 2010
Nu, affatto e basta. Può stare anche da solo :-)
charta ha detto il Mar 22, 2010
Avevo proprio quella edizione, chissà dove è finita.
Segnata nel taccuino per ricomprarla...
josé daniel fierro ha detto il May 21, 2010
Sui miti greci leggo di tutto, dall'età di undici anni!
Maria Francesca: anche su Goodreads senza capirne nulla! ha detto il Jun 23, 2011
Affatto vuol dire "del tutto"...o sbaglio ?
Roberto Fiorili ha detto il Jan 16, 2012
@Roberto Fiorilli, dipende... Può voler dire "del tutto" o il suo contrario: "per niente".
Dicono sia la versione colta di niente affatto, io la preferisco comunque a quest'ultimo ;-)
charta ha detto il Jan 16, 2012
Credo che nessuna parola in nessuna lingua possa/debba esprimere un concetto ma anche, veltronianamente, il suo contrario. Casomai la versione colta, direi unica, dell' utilizzo di questa parola è (vedi sotto) come rafforzativa; è "volgare" (nel senso di non colto), se non sbagliato, l'utilizzo in forma negativa, perché implica l'accettazione nel tempo di un errore di interpretazione, da parte di chi colto non è, di una espressione, al contrario, colta, in combinazione con una negazione sottintesa. In poche parole credo sia accettabile, solo per prassi, nel parlato, e in una sola forma; ma credo si possa altresì concludere che sia sbagliato nello scritto.
«Purtroppo le espressioni formulari divengono gettoni non più analizzati dal parlante: penso, per esempio, all’avverbio affatto, probabilmente risalente a una locuzione del latino parlato (ad factum) e significante “interamente, del tutto”, come anche oggi nell’espressione colta: “L’onestissimo Giovanni è affatto privo di doppiezza”. Però questo avverbio, usato spesso come rafforzativo in frasi negative (“non la penso affatto come te”, “non ho affatto voglia di impegnarmi”), ha preso, nell’uso corrente, il significato contrario di “per nulla”, specie nelle risposte a domande che chiedono un sì o un no: “Hai freddo?” “Affatto”; il quale affatto evidentemente sottintende un niente (niente affatto) e assume su di sé il senso della parola sottintesa».
Giovanni Nencioni
Roberto Fiorili ha detto il Mar 4, 2012
Ti ringrazio della citazione e della precisazione ma poiché è tipica di ogni lingua viva la trasformazione, incluso quella semantica, possono verificarsi anche ambivalenze, a prescindere dal "veltronismo", espressione, questa invece, destinata a soccombere nel breve tempo per la sua natura contingente e aleatoria.
Mi è chiara la distinzione fra "volgarismo" e "cultismo", epperò mi permetto di definire colto un uso consapevole di questo termine nell'accezione negativa, accezione ormai attestata anche nei dizionari (cfr. Devoto-Oli, attualmente curato da Luca Serianni), laddove la maggior parte dei parlanti, legata alla grammatica di base insegnata a scuola, continua a percepirlo come errore.
P.S. Affatto deriva dall'italiano "a fatto", e risale al 1274 ;-)
Pur essendo improntata a una ormai superata concezione antropologica e storico-religiosa di un primevo matriarcato, la classifico tra gli imperdibili perchè narra in toto la mitologia dell'Ellade, la quale, a sua volta, altro non è che la trasposizione, onirica e quindi immaginifica, delle paure, dei desideri e delle esigenze del nostro inconscio.
Feedback da A.
Non è che all'inizio volevi dire "niente affatto"?
Ubmr ha detto il Mar 22, 2010
Nu, affatto e basta. Può stare anche da solo :-)
charta ha detto il Mar 22, 2010
Avevo proprio quella edizione, chissà dove è finita.
Segnata nel taccuino per ricomprarla...
josé daniel fierro ha detto il May 21, 2010
Sui miti greci leggo di tutto, dall'età di undici anni!
Maria Francesca: anche su Goodreads senza capirne nulla! ha detto il Jun 23, 2011
Affatto vuol dire "del tutto"...o sbaglio ?
Roberto Fiorili ha detto il Jan 16, 2012
@Roberto Fiorilli, dipende... Può voler dire "del tutto" o il suo contrario: "per niente".
Dicono sia la versione colta di niente affatto, io la preferisco comunque a quest'ultimo ;-)
charta ha detto il Jan 16, 2012
Credo che nessuna parola in nessuna lingua possa/debba esprimere un concetto ma anche, veltronianamente, il suo contrario. Casomai la versione colta, direi unica, dell' utilizzo di questa parola è (vedi sotto) come rafforzativa; è "volgare" (nel senso di non colto), se non sbagliato, l'utilizzo in forma negativa, perché implica l'accettazione nel tempo di un errore di interpretazione, da parte di chi colto non è, di una espressione, al contrario, colta, in combinazione con una negazione sottintesa. In poche parole credo sia accettabile, solo per prassi, nel parlato, e in una sola forma; ma credo si possa altresì concludere che sia sbagliato nello scritto.
«Purtroppo le espressioni formulari divengono gettoni non più analizzati dal parlante: penso, per esempio, all’avverbio affatto, probabilmente risalente a una locuzione del latino parlato (ad factum) e significante “interamente, del tutto”, come anche oggi nell’espressione colta: “L’onestissimo Giovanni è affatto privo di doppiezza”. Però questo avverbio, usato spesso come rafforzativo in frasi negative (“non la penso affatto come te”, “non ho affatto voglia di impegnarmi”), ha preso, nell’uso corrente, il significato contrario di “per nulla”, specie nelle risposte a domande che chiedono un sì o un no: “Hai freddo?” “Affatto”; il quale affatto evidentemente sottintende un niente (niente affatto) e assume su di sé il senso della parola sottintesa».
Giovanni Nencioni
Roberto Fiorili ha detto il Mar 4, 2012
Ti ringrazio della citazione e della precisazione ma poiché è tipica di ogni lingua viva la trasformazione, incluso quella semantica, possono verificarsi anche ambivalenze, a prescindere dal "veltronismo", espressione, questa invece, destinata a soccombere nel breve tempo per la sua natura contingente e aleatoria.
Mi è chiara la distinzione fra "volgarismo" e "cultismo", epperò mi permetto di definire colto un uso consapevole di questo termine nell'accezione negativa, accezione ormai attestata anche nei dizionari (cfr. Devoto-Oli, attualmente curato da Luca Serianni), laddove la maggior parte dei parlanti, legata alla grammatica di base insegnata a scuola, continua a percepirlo come errore.
P.S. Affatto deriva dall'italiano "a fatto", e risale al 1274 ;-)
April 20, 2020
Un testo imprescindibile per avere un'idea della mitologia greca, un punto di riferimento sui principali miti e personaggi che la popolano. Un commento puntuale e sintetico che mette in luce le principali caratteristiche, la nascita e i collegamenti con la storia e società. Un testo da leggere tutto di un fiato o da consultare durante future letture per contestualizzarle ed introdurle, un testo di partenza per approfondire gli aspetti che più colpiscono ma comunque completo e non banale.
October 8, 2018
Starting with the Pelgasian creation myth and ending with Odysseus’s homecoming, this compendium covers all the traditional ancient Greek myths and legends over the course of 171 chapters.
Each chapter consists of three parts: the first part contains a retelling of a myth (sometimes multiple version thereof) divided into paragraphs that are labelled alphabetically; the second part contains references that appeared as numbered footnotes in the first part; the third part contains Graves’s commentary, also divided into paragraphs, though labelled numerically.
The myths are comprehensive and comprehensible, if at times dense with names. I cannot imagine recommending this to anyone as a first book on the subject; in fact, unless you have an intense interest a priori, I would not recommend taking it up. This is no story book; you may have trouble staying awake. That said, enthusiasts will find it an excellent overview and a window into the less “famous" stories (“Cleobis and Biton" anyone?) and a starting reference point that will lead to other sources (Apollodrus, Herodotus, Pausanias etc.)
I set aside the criticism of Graves's commentary, as I am not qualified to assess it. Truth, fiction, or poetic imagination, be that as it may, I did enjoy the various pattern observations: triplets of goddesses, the persistent “king and tanist" motif, symbols of flora and fauna, and so on.
I’m no less enamoured by the world of myths after having read this heavy tome. If anything, I’m asking: what’s next?
Each chapter consists of three parts: the first part contains a retelling of a myth (sometimes multiple version thereof) divided into paragraphs that are labelled alphabetically; the second part contains references that appeared as numbered footnotes in the first part; the third part contains Graves’s commentary, also divided into paragraphs, though labelled numerically.
The myths are comprehensive and comprehensible, if at times dense with names. I cannot imagine recommending this to anyone as a first book on the subject; in fact, unless you have an intense interest a priori, I would not recommend taking it up. This is no story book; you may have trouble staying awake. That said, enthusiasts will find it an excellent overview and a window into the less “famous" stories (“Cleobis and Biton" anyone?) and a starting reference point that will lead to other sources (Apollodrus, Herodotus, Pausanias etc.)
I set aside the criticism of Graves's commentary, as I am not qualified to assess it. Truth, fiction, or poetic imagination, be that as it may, I did enjoy the various pattern observations: triplets of goddesses, the persistent “king and tanist" motif, symbols of flora and fauna, and so on.
I’m no less enamoured by the world of myths after having read this heavy tome. If anything, I’m asking: what’s next?
Read
January 31, 2019This was, by far, the most awful book I have ever tried to read. I am very much, 'I've started so I'll finish' when it comes to reading books. Sometimes books that I've struggled with initially are actually those that I enjoy the most but this was just horrible. I'd hoped that it would be a book that enabled me to access Greek Mythology but it was just far too esoteric I didn't feel I could access anything the book was saying at all. I don't think I'm stupid or ill educated, I enjoy reading and reading everything, giving anything a try but this was just inaccessible. The writing style was very formal yet not written in the style of a factual text book - rather disparaging of any other scholars' opinions and, 'This is how it is, everything else that is said is silly, I know best'. I decided that life is too short to even bother continuing reading. I have paint to watch dry. If there were less than one star as a rating then this book would most definitely have it.
August 10, 2020
I do not know exactly why I read this book, my author's theories are known and I can not say that I like them very much, on the contrary, I consider them to be nothing more than pseudo-historical fantasies. The narration of the myths certainly has some literary interest but the author's obsession as another Procrustes to try to adapt them to his theory becomes annoying.
Δεν ξέρω ακριβώς γιατί διάβασα αυτό το βιβλίο, οι θεωρίες του συγγραφέα μου είναι γνώστες και δεν μπορώ να πω ότι τις συμπαθώ ιδιαίτερα, αντιθέτως θεωρώ ότι δεν είναι τίποτα περισσότερο από ψευδό-ιστορικές φαντασιώσεις. Η αφήγηση των μύθων έχει σίγουρα κάποιο λογοτεχνικό ενδιαφέρον αλλά η εμμονή του συγγραφέα ως άλλος Προκρούστης να προσπαθεί να τους προσαρμόσει στην θεωρία του γίνεται ενοχλητική.
Δεν ξέρω ακριβώς γιατί διάβασα αυτό το βιβλίο, οι θεωρίες του συγγραφέα μου είναι γνώστες και δεν μπορώ να πω ότι τις συμπαθώ ιδιαίτερα, αντιθέτως θεωρώ ότι δεν είναι τίποτα περισσότερο από ψευδό-ιστορικές φαντασιώσεις. Η αφήγηση των μύθων έχει σίγουρα κάποιο λογοτεχνικό ενδιαφέρον αλλά η εμμονή του συγγραφέα ως άλλος Προκρούστης να προσπαθεί να τους προσαρμόσει στην θεωρία του γίνεται ενοχλητική.
October 30, 2025
Graves tells a short version of many (all?) the Greek myths in roughly chronological order. While most are brief, Graves's magical use of verbs makes us feel as though these are events that did happen, with the ramifications ringing down the halls of history.
The first third of the book is the weakest, but it picks up as we get to the stores of Hercules, The Golden Fleece, and the Siege of Troy.
It is amazing how many people Hercules killed, both on purpose and accidentally, women he bedded, and kingdoms he laid waste to, while also being a favorite of "the people."
Graves makes no effort to sort out the inexplicable changes in each god's goals, favorites, and methods, but does try to explain each within a single myth.
The first third of the book is the weakest, but it picks up as we get to the stores of Hercules, The Golden Fleece, and the Siege of Troy.
It is amazing how many people Hercules killed, both on purpose and accidentally, women he bedded, and kingdoms he laid waste to, while also being a favorite of "the people."
Graves makes no effort to sort out the inexplicable changes in each god's goals, favorites, and methods, but does try to explain each within a single myth.
April 10, 2021
Finally!!
Honestly this was pretty great, exactly what I was looking for. Took a bit longer than what I expected reading considering it's not a narrative but a sort of encyclopedia format, I feel like it had everything and it was long time coming to finally have a book with information about the whole of greek mythology without being distorted a little bit like it happens with retellings.
Just need to figure out what to do with all this information that is now in my brain.
P.s. there was literally no decent guy in the whole of this book, heroes? lol serious anger issues, rape, cruelty, incest, i can't, absolutely devastated with hercules/heracles
Honestly this was pretty great, exactly what I was looking for. Took a bit longer than what I expected reading considering it's not a narrative but a sort of encyclopedia format, I feel like it had everything and it was long time coming to finally have a book with information about the whole of greek mythology without being distorted a little bit like it happens with retellings.
Just need to figure out what to do with all this information that is now in my brain.
P.s. there was literally no decent guy in the whole of this book, heroes? lol serious anger issues, rape, cruelty, incest, i can't, absolutely devastated with hercules/heracles
September 30, 2011
Alright I actually like this book a lot because unlike Bulfinch's Mythology, this book delivers what you're looking for. It actually has the Greek Myths in a style that is understandable and for entertainment purposes. You'll get the whole stories here and they are easy to read!
January 17, 2016
Graves has pulled together an exhaustive compilation of Greek myths, arranged by themes, and provides short commentary on their history as well as documentation on where and when they appear.
I have been a fan of Robert Graves since reading I, Claudius in college. I also read a range of hisotrical fiction set in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Often myths of the time period are important elements of the story line. I had a cursory knowledge base of the basic myths. What Graves did for me was connect the dots on when they emerged and why. I'm glad I read this, as I think it will provide an extra layer of understanding in reading future historical fiction work. Graves is just simply a master.
I have been a fan of Robert Graves since reading I, Claudius in college. I also read a range of hisotrical fiction set in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Often myths of the time period are important elements of the story line. I had a cursory knowledge base of the basic myths. What Graves did for me was connect the dots on when they emerged and why. I'm glad I read this, as I think it will provide an extra layer of understanding in reading future historical fiction work. Graves is just simply a master.
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