The Essential Introduction to Greek and Roman Mythology

The Essential Introduction to Greek and Roman Mythology offers students an immersive reading experience. Myths, monsters, gods, and heroes are explored in their original cultural context, rather than being extracted from it.

This new nine-chapter textbook—shaped by many years’ worth of student input—traces out a portrait of Greek civilization and, separately, a portrait of Roman civilization. Readers will also come face to face with scores of mythical creatures and heroes, such as Medusa, the Minotaur, Odysseus, and the twin brothers Romulus and Remus. In addition, this textbook recounts 24 myths (12 Greek and 12 Roman) in their full, untruncated form. It also devotes four chapters (one each) to four outstanding individual Classical works composed, respectively, by Homer, Sophocles, Virgil, and Ovid. Perhaps most uniquely, this volume is enriched by some 250 color photographs, the majority of them capturing works of art created by the Greeks and Romans themselves. The final chapter focuses on how Greek and Roman mythology manifests itself in today’s world.

The Essential Introduction to Greek and Roman Mythology is recommended for courses in Classical mythology, Classical literature, and Classical studies.