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Greek Myths
Greek legends as illustrated classics for young and old
The Greek myths are timeless classics, whose scenes and figures have captivated us since ancient times. The gods and heroes of these legends hold up a mirror to the human condition, embodying universal characteristics and truths – whether it be the courage of Perseus, the greed of Midas, the vaulting ambition of Icarus, the vengeance of Medea, or the hubris of Niobe. These traits are the basis for immortal dramas and rich narratives, as profound as they are entertaining, which form the bedrock of our culture and literature today and remain relevant and fascinating for all readers, young and old alike.
This edition contains 47 tales based on the most famous episodes in Greek mythology, from Prometheus, the Argonauts, and Theseus to the Trojan War and Homer’s Odyssey. The individual texts are selected from the seminal work Sagen des klassischen Altertums (Legends of Classical Antiquity) by Gustav Schwab (1792–1850), and strikingly illustrated by 29 artists, among them outstanding representatives of the Golden Age of Book Illustration and the Arts and Crafts Movement, including Walter Crane (1845–1915), Arthur Rackham (1867–1939), William Russell Flint (1880–1969), and Virginia Frances Sterrett (1900–1930).
These illustrations are complemented by scene-setting vignettes for each story and a genealogical tree of Greek gods and goddesses by Clifford Harper, commissioned especially for this volume. Placing the tales in context, the book contains a historical introduction by Dr. Michael Siebler and is rounded off with biographies of all featured artists as well as an extensive glossary of ancient Greece’s most famous protagonists. The heroism, tragedy, and theater of Greek mythology glimmer through each tale in this lavishly illustrated edition, awakening the gods and heroes to new life.
The Greek myths are timeless classics, whose scenes and figures have captivated us since ancient times. The gods and heroes of these legends hold up a mirror to the human condition, embodying universal characteristics and truths – whether it be the courage of Perseus, the greed of Midas, the vaulting ambition of Icarus, the vengeance of Medea, or the hubris of Niobe. These traits are the basis for immortal dramas and rich narratives, as profound as they are entertaining, which form the bedrock of our culture and literature today and remain relevant and fascinating for all readers, young and old alike.
This edition contains 47 tales based on the most famous episodes in Greek mythology, from Prometheus, the Argonauts, and Theseus to the Trojan War and Homer’s Odyssey. The individual texts are selected from the seminal work Sagen des klassischen Altertums (Legends of Classical Antiquity) by Gustav Schwab (1792–1850), and strikingly illustrated by 29 artists, among them outstanding representatives of the Golden Age of Book Illustration and the Arts and Crafts Movement, including Walter Crane (1845–1915), Arthur Rackham (1867–1939), William Russell Flint (1880–1969), and Virginia Frances Sterrett (1900–1930).
These illustrations are complemented by scene-setting vignettes for each story and a genealogical tree of Greek gods and goddesses by Clifford Harper, commissioned especially for this volume. Placing the tales in context, the book contains a historical introduction by Dr. Michael Siebler and is rounded off with biographies of all featured artists as well as an extensive glossary of ancient Greece’s most famous protagonists. The heroism, tragedy, and theater of Greek mythology glimmer through each tale in this lavishly illustrated edition, awakening the gods and heroes to new life.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 16, 2024
Gustav Schwab (1792–1850) was a German author, teacher, and professor and with Schwab's seminal work Sagen des klassischen Altertums (published between 1838-1840 and known as Gods and Heroes: Myths and Epics of Ancient Greece in English translation) even today being considered one of the standard works about and of Greek mythology (on an international, on a global scale).
And Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus (published in 2023 by Taschen) basically has Gustav Schwab present (translated and abridged by Dr. Michael Siebler) the story of the Trojan War and of Odysseus' long and difficult journey from the battlefield back home to Ithaca (so basically, the themes and contents of Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey). But while Siebler's presented text is carefully compiled from Sagen des klassischen Altertums and certainly presents the Trojan War and Odysseus' travels decently enough (containing all of relevant factual contents and details of Schwab's original), sorry, but while I totally adore Sagen des klassischen Altertums (and have in particular always counted the parts in Sagen des klassischen Altertums about the Fall of Troy and about Odysseus as amongst my personal favourites both as an adult and equally so when my parents read Sagen des klassischen Altertums to my siblings and me when we were children, before we immigrated to Canada in 1976), I am indeed rather annoyed and textually peeved regarding how in Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus Siebler's abridged translation kind of takes much of Gustav Schwab's stylistic beauty out and leaves a story that is frustratingly on the surface, lacking emotion and in fact leaving both my adult reading self and even more so my inner child bored and desperately wanting more, more, more (not a bad translation and abridgement of course, definitely adequate, but I was looking for something unabridged and less flat and freakishly one-dimensional).
Now if Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus were to only contain Michael Siebler's translation and nothing else, my rating for Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus would likely be a very low and rather begrudging three stars (and that said three stars should also be considered as quite generous on my part). But considering that Clifford Harper's original artwork (alongside of the included paintings, photographs etc.) is visually spectacular (and especially so Harper's delightful genealogical tree of the main Greek gods and goddesses gracing the inside of the front and back covers of Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus) and that Siebler's introduction, glossary and bibliography are a very much appreciated added intellectual bonus for me, yes, my final rating for Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus will thus be four stars (although I do think that Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus is not all that much an all-round reading pleasure, and that frankly and in my opinion, Gustav Schwab's original Sagen des klassischen Altertums or in English Gods and Heroes: Myths and Epics of Ancient Greece would work much better and be considerably more interesting than Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus and Michael Siebler's all too much abridged and woefully pared down and stripped pretty bare stories).
And Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus (published in 2023 by Taschen) basically has Gustav Schwab present (translated and abridged by Dr. Michael Siebler) the story of the Trojan War and of Odysseus' long and difficult journey from the battlefield back home to Ithaca (so basically, the themes and contents of Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey). But while Siebler's presented text is carefully compiled from Sagen des klassischen Altertums and certainly presents the Trojan War and Odysseus' travels decently enough (containing all of relevant factual contents and details of Schwab's original), sorry, but while I totally adore Sagen des klassischen Altertums (and have in particular always counted the parts in Sagen des klassischen Altertums about the Fall of Troy and about Odysseus as amongst my personal favourites both as an adult and equally so when my parents read Sagen des klassischen Altertums to my siblings and me when we were children, before we immigrated to Canada in 1976), I am indeed rather annoyed and textually peeved regarding how in Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus Siebler's abridged translation kind of takes much of Gustav Schwab's stylistic beauty out and leaves a story that is frustratingly on the surface, lacking emotion and in fact leaving both my adult reading self and even more so my inner child bored and desperately wanting more, more, more (not a bad translation and abridgement of course, definitely adequate, but I was looking for something unabridged and less flat and freakishly one-dimensional).
Now if Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus were to only contain Michael Siebler's translation and nothing else, my rating for Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus would likely be a very low and rather begrudging three stars (and that said three stars should also be considered as quite generous on my part). But considering that Clifford Harper's original artwork (alongside of the included paintings, photographs etc.) is visually spectacular (and especially so Harper's delightful genealogical tree of the main Greek gods and goddesses gracing the inside of the front and back covers of Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus) and that Siebler's introduction, glossary and bibliography are a very much appreciated added intellectual bonus for me, yes, my final rating for Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus will thus be four stars (although I do think that Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus is not all that much an all-round reading pleasure, and that frankly and in my opinion, Gustav Schwab's original Sagen des klassischen Altertums or in English Gods and Heroes: Myths and Epics of Ancient Greece would work much better and be considerably more interesting than Greek Myths: Tales of Troy and Odysseus and Michael Siebler's all too much abridged and woefully pared down and stripped pretty bare stories).
February 2, 2023
With its classical retelling of myths and beautiful, lush illustrations, this book deserves a regal position in your home bibliotheque.
June 15, 2024
A hybrid book of art and classic tales, where the focus is clearly more on the aesthetic presentation than on the narratives themselves. Not that this is a problem, at least not for me, as I'm a firm evangelist of art books. However, here I think that the text lacked a little more care, since the option was clearly to maintain a considerable volume of text, the composition of the stains and the typographic approach deserved a little more attention to make the reading as delightful as its cover and illustrations.
January 29, 2024
mooie plaatjes
June 13, 2023
Un compendio de resúmenes de algunas leyendas griegas. Si bien las ilustraciones son de cinco estrellas, los textos dejan que desear. Creo que están bastante resumidos, y no llegas a entender muchas historias a no ser que entiendas el mito previamente.
March 13, 2022
Nicely illustrated. It is not a comprehensive source for Greek myths but a nice heirloom publication to pass down in the family.
June 15, 2024
Merci mon amour 😊
December 18, 2024
While the text is abridged and had several glaring typos, I'm really giving this book 4 stars because of the overall design and wonderfully reproduced classic illustrations throughout. It's full of full-page, lush color reproductions of the original prints, along with short bios of the artists in the appendix. Taschen really creates beautiful books and I'm definitely keeping this one in my collection.
January 16, 2024
The art work is fantastic.
December 13, 2024
Eine grandiose Reise in eine vergangene (und nie dagewesene) Welt. Präsentiert im Zusammenspiel mit prächtigen und passenden Illustrationen. Fabelhaft!
August 2, 2025
Si Aquiles era la fuerza de Grecia, Héctor era las paredes de Troya. Paris te odio con mi ser
November 7, 2025
and they were roommates (achilles and patroclus)
December 1, 2025
These classic stories remind me that the human experience hasn't changed much. I read these to remind myself that my own struggles aren't unique failures. They are part of a very old, my very old, human story.
November 25, 2024
The naurification (?) of greek mythology... Why are historians so homophobic? Idk much about the others but it was sooooo obvious that Achilles and Patroclus loved each other and were lovers their whole life. For fucks sake Achilles went on a killing spree after Patroclus was murdered. And when Achilles died they were buried together for eternity. And I'm sure it was like that for many others throughout history
January 9, 2024
Un libro que tiene una gran variedad de mitos griegos, acompañado con hermosas ilustraciones, lo cual produce un mayor gozo en la lectura.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews