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Myths of the Ancient Greeks
From one of today’s foremost scholars, a lively retelling of the timeless tales… Here are the myths that have influenced so much of our cultural heritage. Such age-old stories as the tragic love of Orpheus and Eurydice or Demeter’s loss of her daughter, Persephone, resonate strongly with readers even today. In this book the rousing adventures of the heroes Herakles, Theseus, and Perseus are intertwined with the tragedies of immortal Prometheus and mortal Oedipus, the amorous escapades of Zeus, the trickery of Hermes, and the ecstasy of Dionysus. In-depth introductions to each section deepen your understanding of the myths—and heighten your reading pleasure. Presented in simple yet elegant prose, these tales emerge in brilliant new life. From the creation battle of the gods and Titans to Odysseus’ return home from the Trojan War, this indispensable volume contains fifty-six legendary stories—handed down from generations past—that will continue to captivate readers for generations to come.
346 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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421 people want to read
About the author
Patrick Hunt
45 books14 followersAlso publishes under the pen name - Patrick N. Hunt.
If you were looking for Patrick Hunt as a young boy, you would have often found him high up in a favorite tree with a book. He discovered Bach as a young teenager and taught himself to play Bach’s TWO-PART INVENTIONS on a rickety piano because his family could not afford music lessons. Now his love of teaching and creative ventures form a strong signature for his life.
Patrick is indebted and grateful to hundreds of students young and old over the years in many places who have taught him just as much as he has taught them. He realizes how
very lucky he is to be doing what he loves and knows many people have helped him along the way.
Patrick has followed several of his life-long dreams – archaeologist, writer, composer, poet, art historian – while teaching the last fifteen or so years at Stanford University.
Some of the courses he has taught at Stanford accommodate his breadth of interests in the Humanities, the Arts, Ancient History and Ancient Technology as well as Archaeological Science. He has lived in London, Athens and Jerusalem as well as annual time spent in Switzerland, France, Italy every year since 1994, among many other countries, and has also conducted archaeological research in Peru on Inca sites and on Olmec, Maya and Aztec cultures in Central America.
As a musician and composer, among classical music works, he has written piano, choral and chamber music and is a Full Writer member of ASCAP since 1980 when some of his choral songs were published along with a movie score he composed. In 1999, a Duke University musical group performed his SONGS OF EXILE: By the Rivers of Babylon in Washington, DC, Raleigh and at Duke. Three arias from his opera in progress, BYRON IN GREECE, were recently performed in London in March, 2005 and William Blake poems set to choral music were performed at Stanford in February, 2005.
Patrick illustrated Richard Martin’s MYTHS OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS (New American Library-Penguin, 2003) and has illustrated his newest book of poems, HOUSE OF THE MUSE: Poems from the British Museum, newly published in the summer of 2005. His poetry publications include poems in YOUNG AMERICAN POETS (1978), POET LORE (1978) and CLASSICAL OUTLOOK (1991). He is also translating Greek poets like Sappho and encyclopedists like Theophrastus.
Patrick has directed Stanford’s Alpine Archaeology Project since 1994, conducting high altitude research in the Great St. Bernard pass between Switzerland and Italy. In 1996 he found the 9000 ft. high quarry for the Temple of Jupiter in the Fenetre de Ferret pass adjacent to the Great St. Bernard Pass and has directed a team that found a Roman silver coin hoard in the Swiss Alps in 2003. Another of his research interests has been to track Hannibal who crossed the Alps in 218 BCE with an army accompanied by elephants. He has led annual teams across at least ten Alpine passes in search of topographic clues matching the texts of Polybius and Livy who wrote about Hannibal nearly two millennia ago, including multiple Stanford teams between 1996 and 2008.
Patrick has been published on diverse topics such as monuments like the Pantheon, ancient notables such as Gyges and Herodotus, linguistics, biblical studies, the origin of Byzantine Silk, studies in Hebrew poetry and literary wordplay, Roman monuments in operas, calendrical megaliths, Olmec and Maya sculpture, iconography on Greek vases and myth palindromes, nautical exploration, art history, Egyptian stone working and Phoenician lore and geoarchaeology among other topics. His academic publications include journal and encyclopedia entries in peer-reviewed articles such as WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY (1989), BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES (1988), PAPERS OF THE INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY, LONDON (1990), STUDIA PHOENICIA (1991), BEITRAGE FUR ERFORSCHUNG DES ALTE
If you were looking for Patrick Hunt as a young boy, you would have often found him high up in a favorite tree with a book. He discovered Bach as a young teenager and taught himself to play Bach’s TWO-PART INVENTIONS on a rickety piano because his family could not afford music lessons. Now his love of teaching and creative ventures form a strong signature for his life.
Patrick is indebted and grateful to hundreds of students young and old over the years in many places who have taught him just as much as he has taught them. He realizes how
very lucky he is to be doing what he loves and knows many people have helped him along the way.
Patrick has followed several of his life-long dreams – archaeologist, writer, composer, poet, art historian – while teaching the last fifteen or so years at Stanford University.
Some of the courses he has taught at Stanford accommodate his breadth of interests in the Humanities, the Arts, Ancient History and Ancient Technology as well as Archaeological Science. He has lived in London, Athens and Jerusalem as well as annual time spent in Switzerland, France, Italy every year since 1994, among many other countries, and has also conducted archaeological research in Peru on Inca sites and on Olmec, Maya and Aztec cultures in Central America.
As a musician and composer, among classical music works, he has written piano, choral and chamber music and is a Full Writer member of ASCAP since 1980 when some of his choral songs were published along with a movie score he composed. In 1999, a Duke University musical group performed his SONGS OF EXILE: By the Rivers of Babylon in Washington, DC, Raleigh and at Duke. Three arias from his opera in progress, BYRON IN GREECE, were recently performed in London in March, 2005 and William Blake poems set to choral music were performed at Stanford in February, 2005.
Patrick illustrated Richard Martin’s MYTHS OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS (New American Library-Penguin, 2003) and has illustrated his newest book of poems, HOUSE OF THE MUSE: Poems from the British Museum, newly published in the summer of 2005. His poetry publications include poems in YOUNG AMERICAN POETS (1978), POET LORE (1978) and CLASSICAL OUTLOOK (1991). He is also translating Greek poets like Sappho and encyclopedists like Theophrastus.
Patrick has directed Stanford’s Alpine Archaeology Project since 1994, conducting high altitude research in the Great St. Bernard pass between Switzerland and Italy. In 1996 he found the 9000 ft. high quarry for the Temple of Jupiter in the Fenetre de Ferret pass adjacent to the Great St. Bernard Pass and has directed a team that found a Roman silver coin hoard in the Swiss Alps in 2003. Another of his research interests has been to track Hannibal who crossed the Alps in 218 BCE with an army accompanied by elephants. He has led annual teams across at least ten Alpine passes in search of topographic clues matching the texts of Polybius and Livy who wrote about Hannibal nearly two millennia ago, including multiple Stanford teams between 1996 and 2008.
Patrick has been published on diverse topics such as monuments like the Pantheon, ancient notables such as Gyges and Herodotus, linguistics, biblical studies, the origin of Byzantine Silk, studies in Hebrew poetry and literary wordplay, Roman monuments in operas, calendrical megaliths, Olmec and Maya sculpture, iconography on Greek vases and myth palindromes, nautical exploration, art history, Egyptian stone working and Phoenician lore and geoarchaeology among other topics. His academic publications include journal and encyclopedia entries in peer-reviewed articles such as WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY (1989), BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES (1988), PAPERS OF THE INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY, LONDON (1990), STUDIA PHOENICIA (1991), BEITRAGE FUR ERFORSCHUNG DES ALTE
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 3, 2010
Myths of the Ancient Greeks is a book with perfect economy of title. It is a brief retelling of the major surviving myths of the ancient Greeks, and Martin adds a light touch to the stories. He succeeds in making very accessible stories that are notoriously difficult to comprehend. This is not a scholarly look at the myths, but again a light introduction to the stories that may peak your interest into deeper study.
The introduction is wonderful, and makes a key point that any person familiar with Greek myth must understand: that these myths can never be fully understood. The Ancient Greeks had very different concepts of morality, justice, honor, duty, and above all religion than we presently possess, whether we are in the Christian west, or the varieties of eastern belief systems. Once you accept that these stories may not be something we can fully grasp, we may try to imagine what it would be like to think like the ancient Greeks, and this is one of the wonderful and mind expanding aspects of the study of Greek myth.
A light, but not simple book that succeeds beautifully as an introduction to a strange, beautiful, and terrifying world of thought.
The introduction is wonderful, and makes a key point that any person familiar with Greek myth must understand: that these myths can never be fully understood. The Ancient Greeks had very different concepts of morality, justice, honor, duty, and above all religion than we presently possess, whether we are in the Christian west, or the varieties of eastern belief systems. Once you accept that these stories may not be something we can fully grasp, we may try to imagine what it would be like to think like the ancient Greeks, and this is one of the wonderful and mind expanding aspects of the study of Greek myth.
A light, but not simple book that succeeds beautifully as an introduction to a strange, beautiful, and terrifying world of thought.
March 5, 2017
Väga informatiivne ja lihtsasti loetav :)
February 22, 2021
I understand that is bold to contribute all of the stories of Greek Mythology in one book, given its thousands of pages of information. But if you are going to do it, don’t undermine the reader and distribute expectations within how the book should be read, who should read it, and how great it is written. It’s less about the mythology and more about the over exaggerating self awareness the author has for their “feat.”
It’s fine at times, very dry mostly all the time, and frequently boring in it ability to share the great myths of the Greeks.
It’s fine at times, very dry mostly all the time, and frequently boring in it ability to share the great myths of the Greeks.
June 6, 2024
I've been reading through multiple anthologies of Greek myths and this quickly became one of my favorites.
Martin combines scholarship with well written mythical narratives. The book is divided into multiple parts, each containing a narrative of interconnected myths. Each chapter starts with a several page introduction where Martin discusses different interpretative theories and the differences between various versions of a myth.
Some of the reviewers on Amazon clearly don't like that Martin does that, but I think it is a strength. There are plenty of good anthologies of Greek myth out there already, but Martin's introductions add up to date info you won't see in other popular, much older, anthologies.
Martin combines scholarship with well written mythical narratives. The book is divided into multiple parts, each containing a narrative of interconnected myths. Each chapter starts with a several page introduction where Martin discusses different interpretative theories and the differences between various versions of a myth.
Some of the reviewers on Amazon clearly don't like that Martin does that, but I think it is a strength. There are plenty of good anthologies of Greek myth out there already, but Martin's introductions add up to date info you won't see in other popular, much older, anthologies.
January 9, 2022
This is fantastic for what it is: a scholar/translator "normalizes" all of the major myths from the Greek world. Martin doesn't follow any one version of events, but he normally relies on the most popular versions. Each chapter/section comes with a scholarly introduction. For casual interest in Greek myth (enough to have carry on a reasonable conversation about the topic), this is a fantastic resource.
Want to read
September 3, 2021is a great book
March 12, 2012
I must admit, I skimmed most of this book. I originally bought it because I love the tales of Greek mythology but I found this book lacking. It's dry and offers little of the magic that is usually associated with these tales and there is nothing setting this book apart from a quick google search online for the same stories. I also believe the author made a mistake but making the gods and goddesses speak in modern tongue. It brought me out of what little of a story there was.
Aside from that, there is a lot of names and rivers and rivers that become names and it is very hard to keep track of things. This I realize is of no fault of the author, and is more of just the way it is, but it also lends to bring you out of what should be a classic story.
I do not suggest this book for Greek Mythologists out there.
Aside from that, there is a lot of names and rivers and rivers that become names and it is very hard to keep track of things. This I realize is of no fault of the author, and is more of just the way it is, but it also lends to bring you out of what should be a classic story.
I do not suggest this book for Greek Mythologists out there.
September 1, 2013
This book is as pleasant a read as it gets. It revisits more than revises; Martin is able to recount multiple versions of key myths as he presents the fractured, uneven narratives structuring a sort of continuity. Key players are introduced, and then reappear later in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts. But what makes the texts most accessible is the fact that Martin presents them for what they are: narratives. This book does not attempt to replace existing guides to Greek mythology, but rather improve an extant body of references and collections that are available to modern readers. Martin has simply given the 21st century student a fresh look at information that is essential to understanding and working within the humanities.
April 19, 2016
It covers the greek gods and related stories but does not clearly mention what is true and what is a myth. If it is supposed to highlight that all the god related stories are a myth then that will imply for such stories in all the cultures and civilizations. Maybe, it assumes that the reader is completely familiar with the greek history.
The book is also not interesting to read. It comes out more like a chronological tale and I believe it could have been written in a better tone. I skimmed about half the book, forcing myself to read the rest hoping that it will start to get interesting.
The book is also not interesting to read. It comes out more like a chronological tale and I believe it could have been written in a better tone. I skimmed about half the book, forcing myself to read the rest hoping that it will start to get interesting.
August 27, 2016
Although the book was ok, to be honest I recommend the book by H.A. Guerber much more. Nothing against Martin, but his book didn't have anything that Guerber hadn't already explained, and explained better in my opinion. I was also irritated by Martin's style of mixing several myths into one, I definitely understand that Greek mythology is incredibly fluid, but for informative purposes I find it best to discuss every myth individually.
Read
March 24, 2012Read the first half or so, anyway, before having to return it to the library. Lots of great detail into the labyrinth that is Greek mythology, with its many major and minor characters and contradictory versions of mythical events. May come back to read the whole thing sometime.
September 1, 2013
This is a very informative, very clearly written account of Greek Myths that's easy to understand. It connects the myths to each other in a way that make them seem less mythical and more historic. I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about Greek myths an legends.
January 17, 2016
Interesting preambles to each "book". The story telling is a bit lacking thou, the latter part is very dense with reference to other stories and the one being told doesn't come to life. Oth seems like the author is trying to capture the minestrel type of storytelling.
June 19, 2007
Pretty comprehensive and much more complete than others I've read. Adds real depth if you can follow the weaving of tales.
March 23, 2012
I knew what I was getting into because I read a lot of the reviews, but it was saddly a little to dry for me. Information was great just not for me.
June 10, 2012
I love it! Especially when the author included the family tree at the beginning. Great for references.
June 11, 2016
More of a story like oration in tone which I found I quite liked. A good book on Greek mythology that recounts the major events in a story like manner.
March 6, 2014
I loved it. Easy to read. Not utterly complicated, no literary reference book for sure but enjoyable for someone who likes greek mythology.
September 10, 2016
Well written. Best book on myths I have read yet.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews