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987 reviews for:
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, 75th Anniversary Illustrated Edition
Edith Hamilton
3.97 AVERAGE
987 reviews for:
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, 75th Anniversary Illustrated Edition
Edith Hamilton
3.97 AVERAGE
An excellent history of, as far as I can tell, all the Greek and Roman myths and stories. Also a smidge of Norse mythology.
I did not expect the author to be quite so opinionated. She had very definite ideas about which authors were too dry, which were overly dramatic, etc. Also, she really preferred Theseus over Hercules, who was apparently a himbo. The number of times she reiterated that Hercules was dumb was frankly funny.
It really felt like she ran out of steam at the end. There were a bunch of myths that were only a paragraph or two long that felt like afterthoughts. And speaking of afterthoughts, all of Norse mythology only getting a few pages? That seems like short shrift.
It really felt like she ran out of steam at the end. There were a bunch of myths that were only a paragraph or two long that felt like afterthoughts. And speaking of afterthoughts, all of Norse mythology only getting a few pages? That seems like short shrift.
informative
medium-paced
Great for overviewing. Though some chunks of the book are written in a very convoluted manner for some reason, almost like the author got bored of telling the story straightforwardly.
This was a bit of a disappointment, but that's down partly to my expectations & what I personally would consider a success for a book like this. I will say that is partly owed to this book being pitched as offering great storytelling, and it really doesn't hit the mark in that regard. So I'll assign part of the blame to that, too.
This book has a bit of a weird mix of minor scholarship and basic storytelling that kind of provides a little traditional context for people who are interested in these myths. But if you want to delve into the scholarship as a serious undertaking, you wouldn't rely on this book. And if you just want to enjoy these stories, as I did, you'll likely find the representations within this book fall short of your memories of the stories.
Also, I sort of get why the Norse myths are briefly touched upon in this book, but really, ~20 pages of coverage do them no justice. I would have preferred they just weren't included at all.
All in all, honestly, I would just skip this. Look for better versions of these stories and enjoy those. This may once have been a great read for people interested in myth, but I don't think it holds up.
This book has a bit of a weird mix of minor scholarship and basic storytelling that kind of provides a little traditional context for people who are interested in these myths. But if you want to delve into the scholarship as a serious undertaking, you wouldn't rely on this book. And if you just want to enjoy these stories, as I did, you'll likely find the representations within this book fall short of your memories of the stories.
Also, I sort of get why the Norse myths are briefly touched upon in this book, but really, ~20 pages of coverage do them no justice. I would have preferred they just weren't included at all.
All in all, honestly, I would just skip this. Look for better versions of these stories and enjoy those. This may once have been a great read for people interested in myth, but I don't think it holds up.
Re-read for the first time since high school English class.
Dip in dip out book. Will return in future
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
The best book of Greek mythology I have ever read. It had every story I have ever heard. I also really like that Mrs. Hamilton recorded two Norse legends in the back of the book. Interesting trivia about Edith Hamilton: she could read Greek before she was ten.
Probably more like 4.5 but I'm feeling generous. This gives a sweeping account of the primary Greek myths, Nordic myths, and other relevant stories. It's detailed yet not boring and it draws on the actual stories of many of the poets. It's great to have a nearly complete picture in this way since patterns begin to stand out. The author also organizes the materials well.
The text also is quite funny in places, it becomes almost easy to predict the endings of some of the stories. Really worth it if this is an area of interest.
The text also is quite funny in places, it becomes almost easy to predict the endings of some of the stories. Really worth it if this is an area of interest.