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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
This was required reading back in high-school, being the moody rebellious teen I was I never went through it.
Although I always had this book sitting on my shelf for over a decade.
Well the time had finally come to pick it up and begin working through it, and I have to say.
I truly missed out.
Edith Hamilton's primer on Greek and Roman Mythology is absolutely splendid.
The book is split into 7 major parts, with the first six giving an overview of the Myths, and the final one, a small snippet of Norse mythology.
At first I was perplexed by the addition of the Norse portion.
But at the end I found that it was the perfect way to end the book, to unify everything so to speak.
Showing just how different yet oddly similar the myths of these people were, gleaming insights into humanity.
The myths of the Greeks can be brutal, dark, exceptionally tragic. Not all heroes are sympathetic but even in the maelstrom you can always find the semblance of hope.
After all, we are not alone in this feeling, we see Edith show us how the Myths could evolve over the ages. How the poets would adjust stories, rewriting them ever so slightly to make the tragic ends ever so bearable. Even if only a few myths earned such treatment.
Edith's commentary in each part, telling us a little about the historical context and perspective of the Greeks that told them. Tell us volumes about what the myths meant for them.
In the end, it's an absolutely worthwhile read and I believe I will be ruminating on the tales told in this book for a very long time.
Although I always had this book sitting on my shelf for over a decade.
Well the time had finally come to pick it up and begin working through it, and I have to say.
I truly missed out.
Edith Hamilton's primer on Greek and Roman Mythology is absolutely splendid.
The book is split into 7 major parts, with the first six giving an overview of the Myths, and the final one, a small snippet of Norse mythology.
At first I was perplexed by the addition of the Norse portion.
But at the end I found that it was the perfect way to end the book, to unify everything so to speak.
Showing just how different yet oddly similar the myths of these people were, gleaming insights into humanity.
The myths of the Greeks can be brutal, dark, exceptionally tragic. Not all heroes are sympathetic but even in the maelstrom you can always find the semblance of hope.
After all, we are not alone in this feeling, we see Edith show us how the Myths could evolve over the ages. How the poets would adjust stories, rewriting them ever so slightly to make the tragic ends ever so bearable. Even if only a few myths earned such treatment.
Edith's commentary in each part, telling us a little about the historical context and perspective of the Greeks that told them. Tell us volumes about what the myths meant for them.
In the end, it's an absolutely worthwhile read and I believe I will be ruminating on the tales told in this book for a very long time.
I read this book in chunks along with Rick Riordan's The Lightening Thief. A wonderful compendium of Greek mythology (along with Roman references and names) with a little Norse included near the end. Ms. Hamilton does a great job of siting the original authors of the stories she shares, along with descriptions of these authors and her reason for using the rendition of each story from certain authors. There was not one monster, god, nymph or demigod referenced in The Lightening Thief that I could not find in the index and text.
dark
informative
medium-paced
I've wanted to learn about greek mythology for a long time, and understand its differences or relations to roman mythology and other additional universes. This book was perfect for that. I came in knowing nothing except for having heard of the names of many of the greek and roman gods, though I didn't know who was who or which culture they belonged to, or anything else. Now, I feel like I do!
The format of this book is a series of short stories, some are longer but most are pretty short. They are organized in collections that make up the 4 parts of the book. At the beginning of many stories she will explain the historical context and which ancient greek or roman writers she is mostly basing her retellings from. At the end she talks briefly about Norse mythology. The book is long, and it took me a while to read it, but I liked how there were so many divisions, and I liked the overall structure. I feel like I learned so much.
Right off the bat, Hamilton lays out the setting and the origins. She explains that greek mythology isn't necessarily a religion, but is a set of stories to explain how and why some things are they way they are, and also to just entertain. So yeah, greek myths are fictional stories. Troy was real city, but the Trojan War that we might've heard of isn't!! But you learn about that much later in the book. Hamilton explains the titans, the original and key gods, and their relations.
It's very hard to keep track of all the characters, especially as you read more stories. So many characters' names start with the letter 'A' it's A-nnoying. :)
I am upset at how many tragedies there were. Many stories were like "Here are two lovers. They walked to the river. One of them died. The other then died." and then half of the other stories are about the gods non-consensually making love, then producing babies with mortals or each other, then more people die, etc. Very strange and might not be everyone's cup of tea. Be prepared!
Anyways, have fun reading this book and hope you get as much out of it as I did!
The format of this book is a series of short stories, some are longer but most are pretty short. They are organized in collections that make up the 4 parts of the book. At the beginning of many stories she will explain the historical context and which ancient greek or roman writers she is mostly basing her retellings from. At the end she talks briefly about Norse mythology. The book is long, and it took me a while to read it, but I liked how there were so many divisions, and I liked the overall structure. I feel like I learned so much.
Spoiler
Right off the bat, Hamilton lays out the setting and the origins. She explains that greek mythology isn't necessarily a religion, but is a set of stories to explain how and why some things are they way they are, and also to just entertain. So yeah, greek myths are fictional stories. Troy was real city, but the Trojan War that we might've heard of isn't!! But you learn about that much later in the book. Hamilton explains the titans, the original and key gods, and their relations.
It's very hard to keep track of all the characters, especially as you read more stories. So many characters' names start with the letter 'A' it's A-nnoying. :)
I am upset at how many tragedies there were. Many stories were like "Here are two lovers. They walked to the river. One of them died. The other then died." and then half of the other stories are about the gods non-consensually making love, then producing babies with mortals or each other, then more people die, etc. Very strange and might not be everyone's cup of tea. Be prepared!
Anyways, have fun reading this book and hope you get as much out of it as I did!
A definite staple in every collection. Although this wasn't my first mythology book, this is the best I've read. :D
A fantastic rendition of the Greek myths. Hamilton’s attention to detail and succinct storytelling read like the textbook you wish you had during school. An encyclopedia more than a storybook, if you want to learn about the workings of Greek mythology look no further.
adventurous
challenging
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
medium-paced