Myths of Greece and Rome

by Thomas Bulfinch, Joseph Campbell (Introduction), Bryan Holme (Editor)

Orpheus leading his beloved Eurydice back to life … Ulysses battling to resist the mesmerising Sirens’ song … The tragedy of the vengeful Medea …

The timeless stories of the gods and goddesses of Greece and Rome are charged with passion and romance, magic and murder. Each one is brought to life beautifully in this lavishly illustrated edition of Thomas Bulfinch’s ‘The Age of Fable’ compiled by Bryan Holme. The narrative is clear and captivating, while the illustrations demonstrate the profound effect the myths had on the great artists of the West, via paintings and sculptures by masters from Botticelli to Picasso.

Genres: Mythology, Classics, Fiction, Reference, Fantasy, Religion, Literature

308 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1855

About the author

Thomas Bulfinch was an American writer born in Newton, Massachusetts, best known for the book Bulfinch's Mythology.

Reviews

[✨ Helena ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the battle between mythologists, Graves comes in first, Hamilton comes in second and Bulfinch comes in third. Bulfinch has a tendency to prefer using the Roman names, and his interpretation of the myths themselves is rather superficial at best, so while I appreciate his contribution to Greek mythological lore...he's definitely not my favourite.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The edition of this fabled book that I read does not appear in the GR books so I have used another edition to identify it.

Thomas Bullfinch, an American scholar, created the classic books of mythology and in this one, the three most famous are presented;Stories of Gods and Heroes; King Arthur and his Knights; The Mabinogeon. All were written in the 1850s and are still quite readable today. Complete with illustrations and various quotes from classic poets which are applicable to a particular myth, it is a wonderful reference book or an introduction to the various mythologies of the world. The addition of maps, proverbial expressions, and a dictionary are extremely helpful to assist the reader in clarifying some of text.

This 950+ page book is not one to be read straight through but rather as one to read in short sections. It took me a month to finish it but it was well worth it. It is the premier book of the familiar and not-so-familiar mythic persons, gods, and history.

[Harper Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for school, and I found it very enjoyable, although long. Lol I never really knew just how much Greek and Roman mythology resounds in our world. It has a real depth that I loved to see. Super fun. Gore, violence, love, action, music, gods, nymphs, poems, stories... Almost anything you could think of is in these stories. Hope you love it!

14+ (Just because of the violence and romance)

Clean, other than violence. I hope you enjoy!

[A.R. Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

More modern treatments of mythology might correct historical errors or fill in gaps in the stories, but this was a very interesting view of the early scholarly work in the field. Troy had not even been discovered by Schliemann when Bulfinch compiled this work. Slavery still existed in the United States. Yet the descriptions are sufficient for the overview that was intended. Bulfinch relates each chapter to their references in literature with verses from T. K. Harvey, Moore, Keats, Byron, and Shakespeare. Many of those references are to poets whose popularity has long since disappeared, but the contrast of that to the longevity of the mythology is worth some thought. In the 1942 edition that I read, the illustrations by Stanley William Hayter were a bonus. If you find this edition in a used book store somewhere, buy it.

[Pollopicu · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought the Age of Fable would be better than Edith Hamilton's "Mythology". Not that her book was anything to write home about.. but at least I was able to absorb more about subject of Mythology than I was with Bulfinche's summary. He seemed to gloss over the legends, but it felt like it took me ages to finish this book. Another thing that threw me off was his preference in using the Latin/Roman version of the names which I initially learned in Greek. A quarter into the book I was too lazy to cross reference which god was which, and just blindly read away just to finish it. Interesting, since in his preface he boasts about how he tries to make it easier on the reader and how tedious it is having to read and look things up in the dictionary as you go along. I don't understand why he didn't use the Greek version of the names as well, even if he stuck them in between parenthesis.
One more thing.. because of Bulfinch, I will never want to read Milton's "Paradise Lost".. or anything by Milton for that matter. I don't know whether to blame him or thank him for that.

[Chris Brimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think a lot of people miss the purpose of the volume. This is a 19th century course on classics taught in a very classical way. When poetry or other literature based on the mythology discussed is quoted you should pull the work up and read the whole thing. This is of course much easier to do now with the internet then when the volume was first written when this would have been a library course. This makes for a very slow but very rewarding reading effort. I plan to read the other two volumes back to back, so much for a trash novel summer.

[Gina Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

AmblesideOnline years 5 and 6. Just finished reading this aloud for the last time. Great introduction to myths and legends as well as how they’re frequently referenced in famous art and poetry.

[Jen3n · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic, well written, informative, beautifully researched, and with careful and delicious verbosity which tends to add to rather than detract from the subject matter. It's a very fine reference guide for people who already have a pretty good handle on Greek Mythology, and a pretty good guide for those who do not.

Look, there are better book out there. Even better books in this specific category; but I really think Bulfinch's Mythology, of which this book is a part, is something everyone should own. It's like Bartlett’s Quotations, man: You just have to be familiar with it. Well, in my opinion. I'm sort of a literary snob. Or a literate snob. Either way.

[Abraão Marques · Rating 1 out of 5]

Um livro que descreve mitologia grega com nomes romanos sem conectar um capítulo ao outro e que descreve mitos sem envolvimento e sem citar fontes clássicas, preocupado apenas em fazer referências da literatura. Wikipédia é de graça e faz o mesmo trabalho.

[Andre Piucci · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If no other knowledge deserves to be called useful but that which helps to enlarge our possessions or to raise our station in society, then Mythology has no claim to the appellation. But if that which tends to make us happier and better can be called useful, then we claim that epithet for our subject. For Mythology is the handmaid of literature; and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of happiness."

[Miriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my very first mythology book. My mother bought it for me in 1985, and I've been hooked on mythology ever since. I still love the photos of statues and the paintings used as illustrations. The fact that it's mostly in black and white was my only real complaint.

[Amy Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

#litlife192021 An Ancient Greek or Roman Work OR Finish a Book You Started But Never Finished
Trying to classically educate my kids, I began reading this on two different occasions in the past, only to give up. I finally got through the entire book this year, but not before my son, to whom I assigned it for lit. The arrangement of the myths feels a bit scattered or arbitrary to me, and thus I couldn't give it a 5-star rating. I feel that the children's D'aulaire's Greek Myths does a better job at (sort of) chronologically or thematically arranging the myths so that they stick in your mind. But I really appreciate that Bulfinch attempted to cut out some of the themes that aren't helpful to developing Christian affections, meanwhile including all myths that will be most referenced in classical literature, and trying to tell them in a delightful way. Here's what he says:
"Having chosen mythology as connected with literature for our province, we have endeavoured to omit nothing which the reader of elegant literature is likely to find occasion for. Such stories and parts of stories as are offensive to pure taste and good morals are not given. But such stories are not often referred to, and if they occasionally should be, the English reader need feel no mortification in confessing his ignorance of them. Our book is not for the learned, nor for the theologian, nor for the philosopher, but for the reader of English literature, of either sex, who wishes to comprehend the allusions so frequently made by public speakers, lecturers, essayists, and poets, and those which occur in polite conversation."
And here is what Graves says in his foreword:
"Bulfinch was at pains to tone down the brutally frank original details of some myths (for example the one about Osiris's dismemberment) and omit incidents unsuitable for young ears and eyes, such as the Argonauts' experiences on the Island of Lemnos...) ...His main object was to provide a key to the classical references found in the educated poets of his day--such as.... And, indeed, as a source of quotation Bulfinch has long ranked with the Bible, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Tennysons's Idylls of the King, Lamb's Tales form Shakespeare, and Milton's Paradise Lost, especially among those who have had no classical schooling."

[BookDragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Greek mythology. It's so interesting! The first part of this book was good, but then it started describing so many things at once and I couldn't keep up.
It also went into other mythology: Norse, Roman, Hindu. Not that it was bad, it just wasn't as interesting.
But overall, it was a good book.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems like I should have read this a long time ago, and perhaps I did. I started reading this (again?) last summer as we prepared to go to Italy/Greece with a BYU summer Study Abroad group. Now I'm finally finishing it.

Bear in mind that this book was written in 1859. For this time period, it is a remarkable bit of scholarship made accessible to the general public. But because it is 150 years old, the style may feel a little dry to contemporary readers. Also, those with a scholarly interest may not like how he synthesizes stories from several sources without identifying the differences among these. As with most retellings, Bulfinch tries to create a coherent narrative at the expensive of literary accuracy. For most people, this would be a helpful reference work if you want to look up information about a particular myth. But this probably isn't the book you would give to your teenager interested in mythology (even though this book is taught a lot in high schools). It is best read in small bits.

I particularly like the book for the connections Bulfinch makes to English language poets (the Romantics, in particular). He provides many examples of how British and American poets drew upon the rich resources of classical mythology for themes and images.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bulfinch's Mythology, Thomas Bulfinch

The book serves as an excellent reference and beginner's guide to mythology. It has guided me through multiple courses in college, from beginner's level Latin, to graduate level philosophy and political science. I highly suggest the Kindle version. It is for free and easy to quote through the computer program, which is also for free. The search function on both the computer program and the Kindle itself is also very helpful, and will get you all of the information that you need in minutes. The version for kindle also contains some excellent sections on the legends of Arthur and Charlemagne.

[Marcelo Tempes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um belo apanhado de resumos sobre diversos mitos, poemas pagãos e informações a respeito das religiões mitológicas. Não se aprofunda, nem entra em reflexões, relata, e em alguns pontos engata em trechos dos mais clássicos poetas.

Posso dizer que seja, talvez, uma informação muito sintética para uma leitura fluída - como o fiz - porém, me parece, uma bela fonte de referências, e acredito que na hora que precisar me ocorrerá - assim espero - alguma lembrança, que mesmo tênue, será suficiente para me levar à consulta da obra.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Age of Fable" tells the fables of a wide variety of cultures, but focuses on the Greek tales. This book also includes clips of various poems that refer to the fables, including several snippets of "Paradise Lost" by Milton. And, towards the end, Thomas Bulfinch addresses the many theories about the origin of the fables, and the more famous fantastical creatures that appear in legends the world over.

[Leah]

“Mythology is the handmaid of literature; and literature is one of the best allies of virtue and promoters of happiness.”

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

greek mythology but if you removed all the beautiful and poetic bits. paintings were cool though.

[Daniel Polansky]

I had a sort of wild hair to go back and read the Greek myths of my childhood. It turns out I mostly remembered all of the good ones, though, and I didn’t love the tendency Bulfinch has to bowdlerize all the juicy, weird, sexual or existential aspects of the myths—for instance, all the times Hercules gets drunk and kills someone and then feels bad about it and has to do lots of super human things to make up for it. I dunno, how do you review a book of Greek myths? Vulcan was always my favorite God? Besides Athena, obviously, obviously Athena is the best. Athena really is kind of the Mary Sue of Olympus – she gets to be the god of ‘good war’, not ‘bad war’, which is a little cheap anyway you look at it, plus cities, heroes, and technology. What the hell is left? Bad world-building, that’s what I call that. Bad worldbuilding.

[Halo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book with great detail and practically ever myth, god, goddess and hero you could want to know about with both the Greek and Roman names throughout.

Would definitely recommend to anyone studying Greek or Roman mythology as it gives a great overview and interesting details with some variations to the myths told around the world.

[Jeff Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A $2.00 puchase from the local market and well worth the coin. The stories themselves are a watered down version; a quick guide to Greek and Roman mythology, and a few others besides.
Notwithstanding, it was interesting enough and i appreciated the interspersed poetry. That if anything, whet my appetite for future reading of earlier poetic works.

[Hann Palstring (Farmer) · Rating 3 out of 5]

i didn't really finish it, but my curriculum no longer requires me to read it. *finally*

[Lory Blanco (areaderheart) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Very enjoyable. Written in a simple, organized and easy to understand way.

[Caleb Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bulfinch produces an excellent summary of Greek mythology, as well as Egyptian, Indian, and Norwegian. He is rather disorganized in how he organizes his fables, which is why a dock him a point.

[Kailyn]

It's weird to think people actually believed this stuff 😂

[Brianna Knutson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda boring until you get to characters that you recognize. The stories of Thor were probably the most interesting.

[Bethanyanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read with my daughter over the course of 3 years for school.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

**edited 12/15/13

No matter what other versions of the Greek myths you've read, there's a certain quaint charm to Bullfinch's take on the stories. Written in the 1850s, the book opens with a forward in which Bullfinch attempts to argue the value of mythology. He notes that without some background in mythology, the allusions of the famous poets will simply whizz over a reader's head, and also adds that despite its pagan beginnings, mythology contains pure and valuable moral lessons. He then proceeds to retell some of the most famous Greek stories, noting and laboriously explaining various later poetical allusions to each tale from writers such as Milton, Keats, Shakespeare, and more.

...And that's all I'm going to post here. The rest of my (rather verbose) review is posted over here at Booklikes.

Why? Because I disapprove of GoodReads' new policy of censorship, and will no longer allow my full reviews to be posted here.

[Luka Brandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

É uma versão simplificada das “Metamorfoses” de Ovidio. A edição da Harper’s Collins não é muito boa; falta um índice remissivo ao final e um glossário com o nome de todos deuses e heróis para consulta rápida, assim como uma boa revisada no texto, que tem alguns erros ortográficos e sintáticos. É importante saber que o autor utiliza apenas a nomenclatura romana dos deuses, o que pode tornar a leitura um pouco frustrante para os estudiosos de mitologia grega já acostumados com os nomes gregos. No caso, utilizei o livro como texto de apoio para leitura da “Eneida” de Virgilio.