The Greeks and Their Gods

by W.K.C. Guthrie

A religious companion to the Greek classics.

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, Anthropology, Classics, Mythology, Nonfiction

404 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

William Keith Chambers Guthrie was a Scottish classical scholar, best known for his History of Greek Philosophy, published in six volumes between 1962 and his death.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Working with classic texts such as The Iliad and Works and Days, as well as with recent archaeological discoveries, Guthrie explores the origins of some of the gods of ancient Greece, along with the beliefs associated with them. The Greeks and Their Gods is a scholarly work, with many references to the history and geography of ancient Greece (I found it useful at one point to Google a few maps in order to understand a point Guthrie was making).

Among the subjects Guthrie discusses: the birth of Zeus; the cult of Dionysus; and the Eleusinian Mysteries. I enjoyed the way that Guthrie was able to sort through some convoluted and even paradoxical traditions in order to arrive at a speculative notion of the religious life of the ordinary ancient Greek.

Just as there are books on physics that include complex mathematical equations, so this book, like other scholarly works on the subject, includes more than a few passages in the original Greek or Latin, without, however, a translation into English. A little frustrating, but not so much as to get in the way of my following Guthrie's overall argument.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a scholarly, conservative and rather dry survey of Greek religion. It is dependable in the sense of not proferring any radical new insights and is reminiscent of the works of Nilssen and Cornford. I'd recommend it for the beginning serious student of ancient Greek religion.

What most struck me was Guthrie's discussion of the birth of Zeus. Apparently we know of dozens of putative sites of this nativity. Apparently the ancients had no problems with the contradictions involved, but went on happily serving the tourists and telling the stories. What does this say about ancient religion?

[Pilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well documented study, which makes it a reference book highly recommended for those who like to know about ancient Greek mythology

[Connor Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to Classical Greek mythology. It was brief but that is what's needed in such a text. My only issue was some aspects of the Greek religion such as Zeus and Dionysus get large sections of promenince while Hermes gets a couple pages and lesser deities such as Aphrodie get no mention whatsoever. Then again he's provided what is an introductory survey and is not attempting to overburden the reader, something Guthrie is keenly aware of and makes note of many times. Make sure you have some knowledge of Greek history beforehand however as there is mention of historical figures and knowing some information about which is nice to get the full scope of the text.

All together I am pretty much signed on to read Guthrie's series on Greek philosophy and his other work on Classical and Ancient Greek culture in the future, provided I can find them at a fair price. They seem to fetch a hefty price online for older texts.

[LordSlaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erudite, engaging, thoughtful, and informative, this book is rich in information and insight. The author writes with great clarity. A very useful and interesting volume.

[Sigo Paolini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too little there to warrant reading...skimming perhaps if you are good at it, but reading? Nope. A major disappointment from Guthrie.

[Richard Toth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently reread and again delighted. The chthonic and Olympian are brilliantly twined.

[Belle Meade School]

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