Gods, Demigods & Demons: An Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology

by Bernard Evslin

Identifies heroes, nymphs, kings, giants, Amazons, gods, goddesses, mortals, rivers, lakes, mountains, and objects from Greek mythology

Genres: Mythology, Nonfiction, Reference, Greek Mythology, History, Classics, Childrens

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Bernard Evslin was an author best known for his adaptations of Greek mythology. With over seventy titles, which include both novel-length retellings and short stories, Evslin is one of the most widely published authors of classical mythology in the world. His best-known work is Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths, which has sold more than ten million copies worldwide and has been translated into ten different languages. An estimated 30 million students have come into contact with Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths due to its repeated use in high school and college classrooms over the years. This bestselling anthology includes such well-known stories as "Theseus and the Minotaur" and "Perseus and Medusa." He also published non-Hellenic titles such as The Green Hero, based on the Irish mythological character Finn McCool. He also was involved in an audio book called: "Children of the Corn." It included "Whistling Boy" a Native American tale; "Pancho's Puppets," a story about a boy in Mexico, and other stories.

Reviews

[K.Q. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've actually had this book since Elementary school. I got it through the Scholastic book order things Elementary Schools offer. I was a geek, sue me.

As a kid I would read the entries and re-read my favourites. I must have read Athena's entry a hundred times, and then yell at the Hercules and Xena TV shows because they were wrong, wrong, wrong!.

While writing my own mythology epic I actually found myself running to this book, dog-eared and yellowed-paged as it is, for refresher courses on certain mythological figures or double checking things. It's a true encyclopedia that is packed with knowledge and straight-forward facts.

It's a great introduction to Greek Mythology and while it's not heavy or overwhelming, it's certainly not dumbed down for kids, making it a great read for everybody.

[Rama Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

The treasures of Greek mythology

This book is introductory in nature that describes Greek gods, goddesses and heroes that have inspired human creativity in Western civilization. It delineates Greek myths and their relevance to Greek religion and nature worship, which was also prevalent in ancient Israel and ancient India. The gods and goddesses are described alphabetically and the myths include stories about the gods and the role they played in human emancipation.

Ancient Greek, Egypt and Roman religions had numerous gods and goddesses. They were worshipped similar to gods of Rigveda in ancient India. But these religions did not survive after the advent of Christianism because there were no sacred scriptures and religious literature that could have supported their beliefs and practices. In contrast to this, Ṛgveda evolved as a major sacred scripture of early Hinduism that paved the way for other Vedic literature like Aranyakas, Brahmanas, Upanishads, epics (Itihasa), Bhagavadgita, and Puranas. The six schools of Hindu Philosophy that includes Vedanta were built on strong foundations of Vedic literature. This partly explains the survival of Hinduism over Greek, Egyptian and Roman religions. In addition, the Roman Empire’s embrace of Christianism accelerated the dominance of Roman Catholic faith.

The Greek religion believed that the pantheon of deities lived on Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. From their perch, they ruled every aspect of human life. Olympian gods and goddesses looked like men and women, but they could change themselves into animals and other things. Homer’s epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey described the mythical story of Trojan War as a divine conflict as well as a human one. But he did not name the gods and goddesses who are probably his main characters. But about one hundred years later, Hesiod’s Theogony offered the first written origin story of Greek mythology. It said that the universe came from nothingness (Chaos, a primeval void) to being, and a family tree of elements, gods and goddesses evolved. They descended from all over; Gaia (Earth), Ouranos (Sky), Pontos (Sea) and Tartaros (the Underworld).

Serval gods of Greek and Roman religions bear resemblance to gods of Ṛgveda of Hinduism. They all have originated from a proto Indo-European inhabitants (Yamnaya culture). For example, god’s names had similar origin; Zeus (Greek) and Dyaus Pitar (Hindu); Hades (Greek), Yama (Hindu) and Yima (Persian mythology); Uranus (Greek) and Varuna (Hindu); Mars (Greek) and Maruts (Hindu); Daphne (Greek) Dahana (Hindu); and Paris (Greek) Panis (Hindu). Zeus (Greek), the king of gods is affirmed with thunder and lightning, the lightning bolt as his primary weapon. Similarly Vedic god Indra is king of the gods and heavens. One of his trademarks is the “Vajras” or lightning bolt, representing immense power and influence. Saraswati (Hindu goddess) is a “cosmic musician,” embodying perfection, knowledge, and wisdom, and Athena (Greek goddess) is very intelligent (Regula) and heroic. The Vedic trinity in ancient Hinduism was Indra, Varuna and Mitra, whose Greek counterparts were Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.

The supreme ruler of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon was the god *Dyḗus Pḥatḗr, whose name literally means "Sky Father". He was believed to have been worshipped as the god of the day-lit skies. Linguists reconstruct the names of some deities in the Proto-Indo-European language. The term for "God" was deiwos; this is reflected in Hittite as sius; Latin as Deus or divus; Sanskrit as deva; and Persian as daeva or div.

This is a good book for quick reference. But the author does not provide any illustrations, photographs, drawings or genealogical tables. In fact there is no introduction to this volume. Recommended to readers interested in ancient history, Greek history and Greek religion.

[ella nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

bro i loved this book as a kid (i.e. i had problems)

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An encyclopaedia of all the characters from Greek mythology. Useful resource as it summarises the story for each of the gods, etc.

[Elaine]

Fun fact: this book is why I knew the correct pronunciation of Hermione before the movies came out. Take that, teen friends.

[Emma Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent pocket guide to all things Greek Mythology and an entertaining cover-to-cover read as well

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

The fun of a book like this is just going through and reading so many random little myths, some of which I'd either never heard of or had forgotten. The entries also include pronunciations, which is extremely helpful.

The main reason I'm ranking this so low is because I noticed that a lot of the entries aren't accurate. Evslin usually bowdlerizes the stories, or tries to harmonize different versions rather than either telling one or admitting that mythology is inconsistent. For example, he de-emphasizes Helios and Selene to portray Apollo and Artemis as the solar/lunar deities, but this leads to him claiming that Artemis slept with Endymion. Um, no? (Oddly enough, the Orion entry doesn't have this problem.) It got to the point where I couldn't enjoy myself because I was constantly questioning what he made up.

Evslin also seems allergic to paragraph breaks; almost every entry is one block of text, even if it goes on for more than a page. The few times he does break a paragraph seem odd as a result. The length of each entry also seems random at times; the Nemean Lion is described as a big action scene going on for more than a page, while the Hydra is just the basic facts.

Anyway, it was kind of fun, but I feel like you could find other mythological dictionaries that don't have these problems, which is why I'm rating this as 2 stars.

[Vida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly comprehensive. Would be nice if related items were listed after each entry--I spent hours thumbing through the names, trying to find the wife Achilles installed in an island after his death (checking out the competition. Haha). Understandably, this would pose a lot of problems since some figures are connected to practically everyone else (e.g. Zeus).

And yes, I did read the entire thing from cover to cover. At least twice. Because I'm obsessive about my mythology that way.

[Lightning · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book, it contains a lot of info, and is thick, which I like! And it specifically states information about the gods, heroes, and demigods in Greek Mythology.

[Christopher Gadomski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't even begin to really say how much I love this book. I read it and reread it so many times that my copy effectual fell apart. Such a good reference book for all things related to Greek mythology.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente información!

[Michael Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a terrific encyclopedia for those who want to know every Greek Gods Demigods and Demons.

[Christopher Desruisseau · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good reference book for younger children and tweens, but it doesn't go into too much details.

[Froglover · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was really tiny. Had to use a magnifying glass 🔍

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book and used quotes for a school project. I really enjoyed reading this, and I learned a lot. I had no idea there were so many gods and goddesses.

[Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I thought this was a story book. It wasn't. I learned a lot reading it. It is informative and entertaining.

[Frank Cervantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful introduction to Greek mythology! I read this book over the course of various lazy Saturdays in elementary school, and I could never just read one entry. I read an entry about a hero, god, or monster, and then hours later my mother would yell that it was time for dinner! After climbing out of my Greek myth rabbit hole, my imagination was profoundly and permanently stoked!

Years later I took two Greek mythology classes at university and aced them both as a direct result of having read this book. Greek mythology is ubiquitous, and knowing the finer details makes it extremely enjoyable when consuming it in different forms of media and entertainment. Similar to how playing fantasy football or any of the FIFA sports games can be enjoyed on a much deeper level if you know almost everything there is to know about the players, teams, and statistics beforehand.

Unfortunately my original copy was disgarded by my television loving family after I moved away for work. I've decided to treat myself and order another copy of the 1988 edition that I loved so well.

TLDR: Read this book. It's inexpensive, concise, and knowing Greek myth has nothing but upside.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without a doubt my most well worn, used and abused book. The cover is falling off. No other books in my collection (with the exception of my dictionary) hold that claim to fame. :). I got it through the scholastic book club through school when I was in grade seven and have loved it ever since. Plus, I found what my (real) first name means, thanks to this book.

[Luis Rendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first got this book when I bought a videogame based on Greek Mythology somewhere in 2015. I bought it to help me understand and learn about Greek Mythology. I use it to this day when I needed helping understanding stories or references. It also helped catch my interest in other books based on Greek Mythology.

[angrykitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok...so i thought that i wrote a review.....anyway.....this is a really good resource when teaching mythology. it's not a definitive source, but it's a nice quick reference guide, and it's really helpful when trying to refresh your memory.

[Olivia Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

For any lover of Greek Mythology, this book describes and tells you about Greeks gods, demigods, and demons. All of your favorites, Zeus Perseus< Jason, Hades, Atlas, Hermes etc. Even if you dont like reading Greek Mythology, this encyclopedia will inform you about all of the famous Greeks!

[Jeanette Rupel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great reference book. It is set up just like an encyclopedia. It is easy to use when looking for a specific character and place. I read it straight through as a child, but now I use it when I need to look up a name. It is well-written and well-researched.

[Erfeo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather disappointing that, despite the title, it doesn't have an entry for Daemon/Daimon or related spirits like Agathodaemon or Kakodaemon. The usefulness of an encyclopaedia seems limited in the age of wikipedia, unless it's a lot more comprehensive than this book.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a great pocket refernce guide for someone already in the know who just needs a little brush-up.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful reference in understanding the myths.

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book since I was 8 years old. It's still a good resource!

[Rondel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I NEVER READ IT BUT ANYTHING WITH GREEK GODS MUST BE GREAT ANY IDEAS WERE I CAN GET THE BOOK?

[Skylar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting book. It have the name of all god and goddess and also include a brief intro of each.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A particularly helpful reference book. I purchased my first copy almost 20 years ago. It's been replaced since then and I even used it as a resource for a class I taught this summer.

[Rocio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing and contain a lot of storis and information, too sad I lost my copy.