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Flame Tree Collector's Editions Mythology
Greek Myths & Legends: Tales of Heroes, Gods & Monsters
Beautiful edition with a new introduction to the mighty exploits of Zeus, Odysseus, the twelve tasks of Heracles, and the Titans, highlighting the origins of modern fiction in myth and fable.
Gorgeous Collector's Edition. From the birth of Zeus, to Prometheus, Pandora and Helen of Troy, Odysseus and Jason and the Argonauts, the myths of the Greeks and, later, the Romans, are passionate and powerfully told. The Gods are jealous of each other's powers, subject to mighty outbursts of love and always seeking vengeance. The dark forces of the ancient world were held at bay by the resourceful and emerging civilization that formed the basis of Western culture, providing a tradition of fabulous tales that are retold here.
Flame Tree Collector's Editions present the foundations of speculative fiction, authors, myths and tales without which the imaginative literature of the twentieth century would not exist, bringing the best, most influential and most fascinating works into a striking and collectable library. Each book features a new introduction and a Glossary of Terms.
Gorgeous Collector's Edition. From the birth of Zeus, to Prometheus, Pandora and Helen of Troy, Odysseus and Jason and the Argonauts, the myths of the Greeks and, later, the Romans, are passionate and powerfully told. The Gods are jealous of each other's powers, subject to mighty outbursts of love and always seeking vengeance. The dark forces of the ancient world were held at bay by the resourceful and emerging civilization that formed the basis of Western culture, providing a tradition of fabulous tales that are retold here.
Flame Tree Collector's Editions present the foundations of speculative fiction, authors, myths and tales without which the imaginative literature of the twentieth century would not exist, bringing the best, most influential and most fascinating works into a striking and collectable library. Each book features a new introduction and a Glossary of Terms.
416 pages, Hardcover
Published June 21, 2022
104 people are currently reading
558 people want to read
About the author
Jake Jackson
173 books172 followersSF and dark fantasy author but also a writer/creator of practical music books - Beginner's Guide to Reading Music, Guitar Chords, Piano Chords, Songwriter’s Rhyming Dictionary and How to Play Guitar. Other publications include Advanced Guitar Chords, Advanced Piano Chords, Chords for Kids, How to Play the Electric Guitar, Piano & Keyboard Chords, Scales and Modes and Play Flamenco. Also editor of Mythology books
Released EP Jakesongs on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, LastFM, etc and on CDBaby. Lifelong passion for fantastic worlds of any kind, from movies to fiction, art to music, posters, album and paperback book covers.
Jake Jackson is the artist name for Nick Wells, Publisher of Flame Tree Press / Flame Tree Publishing.
Released EP Jakesongs on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, LastFM, etc and on CDBaby. Lifelong passion for fantastic worlds of any kind, from movies to fiction, art to music, posters, album and paperback book covers.
Jake Jackson is the artist name for Nick Wells, Publisher of Flame Tree Press / Flame Tree Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 10, 2022
The unfortunate first few lines:
"Among all the nations scattered over the face of the earth, the Hebrews alone were instructed by God, who gave them not only a full account of the creation of the world and of all living creatures, but also a code of laws to regulate their conduct. All the questions they fain would ask were fully answered, and no room remained for conjecture.
It was not so, however, with other nations. The Greeks and Romans, for instance, lacking the infinite knowledge which we obtain from the Scriptures, and still anxious to know everything, were forced to construct, in part, their own theory."
Why was this classical mythology collection written from such a strikingly Judeo-Christian perspective? I find this rather offensive, especially considering this was the actual religion of the ancient Greeks, and Hellenism (the polytheistic worship of the Greek pantheon) is still a practiced religion by many, some of whom I personally know. In fact, as of 2017, Hellenism has been legally recognised by the Greek government as a "known religion." So, it's quite ignorant to consider ancient religions primitive because they aren't as prevalent today. For example, Kemetism (ancient Egyptian polytheism) and the Old Norse religion (Norse polytheism) are also practiced globally, as well as many other polytheistic religions based upon various world mythologies.
The actual text here is disappointing because I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction preceding it from the classicist, Dr Stephen Kershaw, who edited A Concise Dictionary Of Classical Mythology and wrote The Search for Atlantis: A History of Plato's Ideal State, both of which are wonderful additions to my mythological bookshelves.
And although I prefer less judgemental mythological collections, this was, overall, a fairly comprehensive one. Included are the Greek creation myths, love myths, the events of the Iliad, Odyssey, Argonautica and the Labours of Heracles, as well as the Roman legends and the events of the Aeneid.
It was decent, but not one I'd personally recommend.
"Among all the nations scattered over the face of the earth, the Hebrews alone were instructed by God, who gave them not only a full account of the creation of the world and of all living creatures, but also a code of laws to regulate their conduct. All the questions they fain would ask were fully answered, and no room remained for conjecture.
It was not so, however, with other nations. The Greeks and Romans, for instance, lacking the infinite knowledge which we obtain from the Scriptures, and still anxious to know everything, were forced to construct, in part, their own theory."
Why was this classical mythology collection written from such a strikingly Judeo-Christian perspective? I find this rather offensive, especially considering this was the actual religion of the ancient Greeks, and Hellenism (the polytheistic worship of the Greek pantheon) is still a practiced religion by many, some of whom I personally know. In fact, as of 2017, Hellenism has been legally recognised by the Greek government as a "known religion." So, it's quite ignorant to consider ancient religions primitive because they aren't as prevalent today. For example, Kemetism (ancient Egyptian polytheism) and the Old Norse religion (Norse polytheism) are also practiced globally, as well as many other polytheistic religions based upon various world mythologies.
The actual text here is disappointing because I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction preceding it from the classicist, Dr Stephen Kershaw, who edited A Concise Dictionary Of Classical Mythology and wrote The Search for Atlantis: A History of Plato's Ideal State, both of which are wonderful additions to my mythological bookshelves.
And although I prefer less judgemental mythological collections, this was, overall, a fairly comprehensive one. Included are the Greek creation myths, love myths, the events of the Iliad, Odyssey, Argonautica and the Labours of Heracles, as well as the Roman legends and the events of the Aeneid.
It was decent, but not one I'd personally recommend.
January 16, 2024
Pretty dry and not gay enough
July 4, 2023
Good about greek mythology in general terms. It doesnt go in extreme depths though. I love the glossary at the back. I couldnt follow the part about roman mythology. Especially the part about Aeneas was tough to read, probably due to having direct translation from the Aeniad.
September 7, 2024
This is a good collection and summary of Greek (and some Roman) myths and legends. It was pretty dry at times; it took me a month and a half to finish, and that was with some skimming near the end.
January 20, 2024
I got this book for Christmas from a couple of friends, and first thing to say is this book is beautiful - the cover and the art is just incredible, it's the type of book you immediately want to touch and caress, it's a book that is to be shown!!!
Then the content is really good and lives up to the hype of the cover!!! Greek myths is something I've read a lot about, something I've studied in school, but his book still brought something new!! What this book does very interestingly is not only focus on the iconic myth of a hero or God, but tell their whole story, I found myself discovering things I didn't know about the birth/upbringing and the after-adventure/death of some of the heroes, and then also the creation myth goes generations back from where you normally start!!!
The book also does a very good comparative job, these myths grew through the centuries, you have figures whose roles have changed and evolved through what the time in Greece (or the place) needed them to be, and the books go into exploring that as well, the different facets of a hero or God.
This was a win, 100%!!! And my friends also got me the Norse Myths one, and very looking forward to reading that one and learning a lot (because for that one I'm going in with the basic knowledge you get from Thor movies and Magnus Chase), and I have my eye on a few more now!!! Fully recommending this collection!!!
Then the content is really good and lives up to the hype of the cover!!! Greek myths is something I've read a lot about, something I've studied in school, but his book still brought something new!! What this book does very interestingly is not only focus on the iconic myth of a hero or God, but tell their whole story, I found myself discovering things I didn't know about the birth/upbringing and the after-adventure/death of some of the heroes, and then also the creation myth goes generations back from where you normally start!!!
The book also does a very good comparative job, these myths grew through the centuries, you have figures whose roles have changed and evolved through what the time in Greece (or the place) needed them to be, and the books go into exploring that as well, the different facets of a hero or God.
This was a win, 100%!!! And my friends also got me the Norse Myths one, and very looking forward to reading that one and learning a lot (because for that one I'm going in with the basic knowledge you get from Thor movies and Magnus Chase), and I have my eye on a few more now!!! Fully recommending this collection!!!
January 27, 2023
It was mid. Pretty cover and some interesting stories, but I feel as though some parts just could've been written better.
This book has made me realize how jacked up Greek mythology is. I mean just lots of stuff like @dultery, betrayal, envy, m*rder, s**cide, and way more.
I'm starting to realize how far off Hercules the Disney movie was from Greek mythology.
I still find it interesting though, and will probably continue reading about mythology. Maybe I might read this book in the future, when my brain is fully developed and I can better comprehend the amount of lore in Greek myths.
This book has made me realize how jacked up Greek mythology is. I mean just lots of stuff like @dultery, betrayal, envy, m*rder, s**cide, and way more.
I'm starting to realize how far off Hercules the Disney movie was from Greek mythology.
I still find it interesting though, and will probably continue reading about mythology. Maybe I might read this book in the future, when my brain is fully developed and I can better comprehend the amount of lore in Greek myths.
March 14, 2024
why is this book actually riddled with spelling and grammar errors?
the entire second last chapter is literally just copy and pasted translations from the aeneid, so not much creativity going on there. the entire section on rome was poorly written and the ending bothered me because it was so boring, no conclusions, nothing.
only gets two stars because the first three quarters were good as a quick read and summary of the big stories.
the entire second last chapter is literally just copy and pasted translations from the aeneid, so not much creativity going on there. the entire section on rome was poorly written and the ending bothered me because it was so boring, no conclusions, nothing.
only gets two stars because the first three quarters were good as a quick read and summary of the big stories.
October 7, 2025
An acceptable overview and condensation of classical myth, told with an entirely unnecessary christianized introduction. This book too often spirals into condensing major plot points into single sentences, giving a poor flow to the story that feels like a rushed description rather than an interpretation. I would recommend anyone interested in these myths read the translations of the homeric stories rather than this.
December 15, 2023
it’s a really good starting point for getting into greek mythology, it has the most popular stories with just enough detail. it gives you the opportunity to do your own research on the specific stories or aspects you like. overall a good book for basic myths for easy understanding
October 11, 2023
Dry at times but overall very educational about the history of greek (and roman!) mythology.
February 4, 2024
The best one of the collection but still dry.
August 4, 2025
Needed another proofread before it was published. still good storytelling and a good reference book
September 8, 2025
The book tells a lot of stories but you can’t feel the excitement when reading the book, thank god I have a good imagination.
November 4, 2025
a bit boring but good
July 4, 2025
I enjoyed alot of this book but started finding many errors, so many that I'm not sure if I can trust these telling if the myths. Unsure if I will continue
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews