Myths: Tales of the Greek and Roman Gods

by Lucia Impelluso, Rosanna Giammanco (Translator)

From the same series as Abrams’ successful Saints and Angels comes Tales of the Greek and Roman Gods , richly illustrated with representations of these celestial heralds from ancient murals and pottery to the paintings of Gustav Klimt and Odilon Redon.

Author and art historian Lucia Impelluso has drawn from a variety of sources, including the plays of Euripides and Aeschylus, the epics of Homer and Virgil, Aesop’s fables, Ovid’s Metamorphoses , Petrarch’s sonnets, and the works of Pindar, Sophocles, Plutarch, Pliny the Elder, and Bocaccio.

Beginning with the stories of Earth’s creation and its early rulers, the Titans, Impelluso recounts the major episodes and figures of Greek and Roman mythology, with sections on the gods of the sky, the sea, the earth, and the underworld; the Fates and the Muses; monsters; human heroes; and the Iliad , the Odyssey , and the Aeneid . Here are beloved stories, retold and illustrated in a wonderful, giftable format.

Genres: Mythology, Reference, Art, Greek Mythology, Nonfiction, History

780 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Vince]

This is a thumbnail reference book. You don't really read reference books do you? As a quick guide to pantheon of Greek and Roman mythical characters this is good. Nicely illustrated with artwork depicting each. Small format.

[Sarah Villaseñor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tiny and condensed art/mythology collection has me excited to read some of the more “classical” texts in my library! The high point of this book was reading about one painting and happening upon it at the art museum. It was fantastic!

[Serena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book deserves to have Venus on it's cover, it's a "coffee table" book, short and stout, but beautiful - all it's illustrations, from ancient to more modern (1700-1800) are in full vivid color. While not as big as one might hoped, it is a good enough size to make out both text and photographic details. It's all Roman names though, which to me was a shame - but Greek names and myths are at least told - which is great!

It's more of a story and picture book than it is a detailed selection of myths. Yet gorgeously put together, with a few myths that some of those detailed texts would miss are told here, in a Aesop's Tales like fashion.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this four stars because for what it is - an overview of the various gods and myths of the Greeks and Romans - and a pairing of the brief overviews with the best artistic renderings of those myths through the ages - it is quite lovely.

[Zee Weasel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Myths: Tales of the Greek and Roman Gods provides a great, colorful birds eye view of the Roman and Greek mythology. Each entry is condensed to one page and is accompanied with a relevant piece of art. Larger myths are broken down into further bite-sized entries and expand on the first entry of the chapter. It's great to pick up while the kettle heats or the tea steeps. I would not recommend it if you are already familiar with the myths and want to learn more, but rather if you want to get a quick idea of the scope of these myths or are interested in the famous pieces of art that depict them.

I guess you can also not read it and just out on your coffee table to make you seemed cultured and educated. It certainly looks excellent and doesn't take up much space. But dont be that person if you can help it :D

[Andràș-Florin Răducanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished reading this and my thoughts round up to about adequate. The information is decent, although simplified, although more roman-centred. The real reason why I am keeping this book is actually the beautifully reproduced paintings and also the fact that this is more like a dictionary than anything else.

[Cienna · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent brief resource on Greek/Roman myths. Not as extensive as Ovid's Metamorphosis, but the images included are really interesting. I highly suggest this for people that just want a casual overview of the myths.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive overview of Roman gods and goddesses (mentions Greek, however mainly on the Roman side of house.)

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
read for seminar, enjoyed it even though i read a lot of these before it was fun to revisit them

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Myths: Tales Of The Greek And Roman Gods
I had a great time reading through this. It's too fat for me to tote around and it's been on the coffee table for me to thumb through in the evenings and a coffee table read is really what this is. It isn't the myths and tales told in full, dramatic form, but more of a desk reference to the Greek and Roman Gods. Should come in handy if I ever decide to actually read the Iliad and the Odessy. Each page gives a brief bio and overview and is accompanied with a work of art that depicts the person or story played out. It is a small book and the pictures of the paintings and sculptures are very small, but if you want to see the small details the author is trying to point out, I'm sure you can find larger versions on the internet. It is set up in a chronological fashion beginning with Saturn (Chronos), Uranus, and Gaea and going through the Trojan War and the return of Ulysses and Aeneas, but also from deities to mortals. So, some skipping around is necessary depending on how good your memory is, but it's not a hard read. Like I said, it was fun. I always liked going over these stories in history class and it's a great time waster.

[Eleclyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arte e mito nello stesso libro

Miti di Lucia Impelluso coniuga in un unico volume, piccolo e tutto sommato non troppo costoso, la stragrande maggioranza dei miti greci e romani (con riferimenti anche alla mitologia italica), affiancando ad ogni divinità e ad ogni mito una rappresentazione pittorica o scultorea più o meno nota.

Si parte dalle origini, da Urano e Gea, passando per Saturno, Zeus e gli altri dèi dell'Olimpo, gli eroi della mitologia (anche i meno conosciuti), l'Iliade e l'Odissea, per concludere con l'Eneide.

È un libro veramente piacevole e completo. Può essere un regalo graditissimo per chi ama l'arte e la mitologia.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the art that was paired with the stories and descriptions of various gods, goddesses, heroes, and monsters was really cool. However, I thought it was odd that the title talks of Greek and Roman gods, yet the entire book was framed from the Roman side, simply mentioning the Greek names when appropriate. This seems weird to me, since usually the Greek names are used, mentioning the Roman. Still, pretty interesting.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not an actual book with a plot and different storylines. It is a collection of different myths used to outline these gods and heroes of the Greek and Roman mythology. It was really interesting and I found out a lot of interesting things I didn't know about them. One thing I did know and even more so now: Zeus used to sleep around like crazy! I definitely recommend this to those who have a passion for mithology.

[Paige]

So, I"m currently reading this book, but it's more as a reference than a pleasure read. So far I like it It gives good synopses of the Greek and Roman gods and their roles. It uses all the Roman names, which I'm less familiar with, but it does include the Greek names as well. It also shows great pieces of art that depict the various characters and stories.

[Jenna Roscoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cool combination of art history and classic Roman and Greek mythology. The works of Fuseli, Goya, Caravaggio, Klimt, were just a few of my favorites out of the extensive pantheon of artists included in this book. Geared more toward the Roman tellings of the myths though, which suprised me since I'm more used to the Greek versions. A fun visual casual read regardless.

[Nicki Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many excellent books out there on the Greek and Roman myths, but I'm glad I came across this one. Full of gorgeous illustrations from across the centuries it is the perfect addition to the library of anyone who loves both mythology and fine art.

[V.A. Herring-Trice · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite handbooks. It has great pictures and offers a condensed description of the Roman and Greek Gods, demigods, muses and mythological creatures. Love it and found it valuable when writing THE PINK STONE OF VENUS.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped me understand the gods better, its less confusing than most of the other boooks

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great overview of roman (and greek) mythology. It doesn't go too deeply into the stories, but it's a great guide for the amazing and famous artwork inside of it.