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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
This is just one of those books you have to read if you're ever going to get anything. It's also one of those books I read the same summer I accidentally read the bible, so I was in allusion heaven after that.
The lies lovers tell do not anger the gods.
Fun! I have a very vague memory of reading this, or perhaps an abridged version of it, as a child, and it was really great to revisit these myths and stories that had such an impact on tiny-Laura's brain. There's always something awe-striking about Greek myth, and even when told like this (concisely, sparely, trying to give a lot of information about different myths, heroes and gods but not necessarily heaping with detail) it was impressive and enjoyable. The prose was simple and dry, which is what it needed to be for this, I think. I also enjoyed that the author, before each major myth/story, would talk about which poet or storyteller was her major source, whether Homer or Ovid or Euripides or Pindar or whoever, and talk about WHY she chose one source over another. It was also a way of letting the reader know where to go for more details/info if one so desires!
As can be expected with a book about myth, it got a little bit repetitive at times because so many of the minor myths are extremely similar. So many of the stories boil down to "a god wants a fuck a girl > girl says "uh no thanks" > he rapes her anyway > problems ensue > it may or may not work out for her in the end". So that got dull and a little frustrating. Also it was kind of a meme how so many things ended up being Hera's fault. That's not a critique of the book, obviously, lol; just me rolling my eyes at how often she was vilified/how OTT jealous she was about Zeus and his affairs, and the fact that that anger was seldom directed at Zeus himself. The author did talk a little bit about that hypocrisy, and also a little about changing attitudes towards the gods, which was interesting. There's a small section at the end that talks about Norse mythology, and that was really cool, because I know less about those. But the author's tone definitely changed in that part, and seemed to become almost... condescending? In a "too bad they had no great poets and both the Eddas were written by amateurs!' way. Idk, it was weird.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Suzanne Toren; enjoyed it a lot. She has a voice that idk how to describe other than as "old-timey" and it was suitable. I've had this sitting in my library for a while and I'm super glad I finally got to it, both for the nostalgia and the stories themselves.
I don't know if I loved this book because I loved learning about Greek mythology, or if I loved Greek mythology because I loved reading this book!
challenging
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
challenging
informative
medium-paced
It's not fair for me to rate this since I was expecting something entirely different. It's encylopedic in scope and therefore a bit on the dry side. I skimmed a couple of characters and then returned it to the library.
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
18/100 - 1942 - Mythology by Edith Hamilton
Probably about a year or so ago, my husband was telling me about some sort of video game he was playing with characters from Greek mythology. I studied some classics in college and even had a copy of this book at some point, but our conversation made me realize how little of it I actually remembered.
I read this slowly over the span of months, sometimes on audio and sometimes the physical copy (which I bought used and is every bit as underlined and highlighted as one would expect this book to be). It really came in handy while reading American Gods and The Song of Achilles. I’m glad I revisited it but wish there was a mythology collection like this that covered more beyond just Greek and Roman classics (and yes, it has a little Norse but not much). Such an excellent reference book, though. And I’m glad I bought a copy to have on hand.
Probably about a year or so ago, my husband was telling me about some sort of video game he was playing with characters from Greek mythology. I studied some classics in college and even had a copy of this book at some point, but our conversation made me realize how little of it I actually remembered.
I read this slowly over the span of months, sometimes on audio and sometimes the physical copy (which I bought used and is every bit as underlined and highlighted as one would expect this book to be). It really came in handy while reading American Gods and The Song of Achilles. I’m glad I revisited it but wish there was a mythology collection like this that covered more beyond just Greek and Roman classics (and yes, it has a little Norse but not much). Such an excellent reference book, though. And I’m glad I bought a copy to have on hand.
With all of the classics I'm reading in the Harvard Classics series plus operas, I really needed a refresher around Greek mythology. I turned to an old high school reference. Still provides a great overview!
First off, I never know how to rate books like this? It’s really informative and all but it IS a history book sooo... I don’t know, haha. I read like 3/4 of this in full but started to skip around a bit towards the end cause I just didn’t really care about those myths as much.
Next, *technically* I did start this back in July, but I actually read the first chapter and then didn’t pick it back up again until three days ago, sooo the reading dates aren’t really accurate.
I’m glad I’ve finally read this since I know it’s a mythological classic, and it’s definitely hurdled me back into a Greek Myth phase and I’m gonna re-read Song of Achilles next.
Next, *technically* I did start this back in July, but I actually read the first chapter and then didn’t pick it back up again until three days ago, sooo the reading dates aren’t really accurate.
I’m glad I’ve finally read this since I know it’s a mythological classic, and it’s definitely hurdled me back into a Greek Myth phase and I’m gonna re-read Song of Achilles next.