Customer Reviews

Classical Mythology: Images and Insights

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Harris and Platzner's Classical Mythology is thorough and eloquently written. I particularly like the use of original sources (Hesiod, Homer, Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides, Virgil and Ovid)along with indepth analyses of the works themselves. Sometimes I think the authors' interpretations are a bit of a stretch, but nonetheless they are thoughtful and beautifully written.
However, I've decided NOT to use this as a textbbook for my introductory college level course, for a couple of reasons:

1) The organization: not infrequently myths are mentioned briefly in relation to something else before they are fully covered in their own right--a problem, I would think, for beginners. The book is arranged thematically--gods, male and female heroes, the view of after life, world in decline--rather than in a more straightforward myth-telling scheme (as in Barry Powell's book). All of this is quite interesting to someone who has a mid-level understanding of mythology, but I think it makes it a little harder for initiates to grasp the basic myths and their variants.

2) Practical usage: in some senses maddening. For example, simple chapter numerals at the top of each page would be incredibly helpful so that when the text refers to another chapter (which it does continually--because of the way the material is organized) you could find that particular chapter instead of having to rifle through the pages. Then there is the seemingly arbitrary way in which some names and terms are included in the glossary and some are not. Why? Even more arbitrary--and irritating!--is the decision to give helpful pronunciation guides to some terms but not others. Why Minos, for instance, but not moirae; or Aurora (really) but not Anaxagoras (where does the accent go?). Also, a more useful map would help.

But ultimtely, this book is beautiful and richly written--I enjoyed it immensely; furthermore, it offers solid insights into the ways myths might have developed (though Ken Dowden's book is more convincing) and the ways we interpret them today. The authors make quite clear the existence of variants for many if not most myths--which reflects the true complexity of classical mythology. And finally, the visuals are gorgeous, both the 4-color plates and the black & white photos.

I managed to make it all the way to the 21st century before I actually made my students buy a single textbook that cost this much, but after my first semester of using the Fourth Edition of "Classical Mythology: Images & Insights" by Stephen L. Harris and Gloria Platzner I do not have any major regrets. In the past I have liked to rely mainly on primary texts, such as Homer's "Iliad" and a collection of Greek tragedies, supplemented by handouts, because I prefer that my students come up with their own interpretations. However, teaching a Classical Mythology course on line changes the dynamics of the teacher-student interaction, which made the switch to this textbook a viable option.

"Classical Mythology" is divided into five sections: (1) The Nature and Function of Myth, which introduces students to the Greek myths and ways of interpreting them; (2) Epic Myths and the Heroic Quest, which covers creation stories, the gods and goddesses, and the epic heroes from Perseus and Hercules to the Trojan War and the quest for Odysseus; (3) Tragic Heroes and Heroines looks at the tragic vision and the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; (4) The World of Roman Myth explores the differences between Greek myths and Roman realities with an emphasis on Virgil's "Aeneid" and Ovid's "Metamorphoses"; and (5) The Western World's Transformations of Myth" is a single chapter section that explores the persistence of myth in terms of modern transmissions of classical myths. I found it necessary to break up Part II of the textbook so that the deities and the heroes were dealt with separately. This is a natural division that is certainly reflected in the organization of the chapters in that part.

In terms of primary sources "Classical Mythology" gives me more works that I have ever used in class before, including excerpts from Hesiod's "Theogony" and "Works and Days," along with some Homeric Hymns. I had used the "Orestia" of Aeschylus before, but the version I had included only a synopsis of "The Libation-Bearers" whereas Harris and Platzner include an abbreviated version of the middle play that includes what I think is the most powerful secene in the trilogy, where Clytemnestra begs her son for her life. I would have chosen a few different chapters from the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," but that is offset by the fact that now I can have students read substantial parts of both works. Likewise, I would have liked to have had "Iphigenia at Aulis" and/or "The Trojan Women" in the volume because I really like the way the Euripides plays off the beginning and the end of the "Iliad," but again, this is a question of editorial discretion as you still have the "Orestia" and the Theban plays of "Sophocles," along with "Medea" and "Bacchae" by Euripides. I like my students to have a better idea of the dramatic structure and key concepts of Greek tragedy, but I already have that all worked out for my students.

As for the analysis of the classical myths provided by Harris and Platzner, I would say that it skews a bit higher than the undergraduate level. But whether you are using this textbook in the classroom or online you have amply opportunities to take issue with what in lecture or class notes. Then you also have the fact that this is richly illustrated volume with two sections of color plate photographs as well as dozens of black & white illustrations as well. The back of the book includes a lengthy glossary and a selected bibliography that will be of more interest to teachers than students. Overall, the key consideration here as far as I am concerned are the primary texts that are included, because there are a lot here for your students to read. I have not done an actual tally, but I would think that the primary texts account for half of this textbook, especially once you take all the illustrations out of the equation. "Classical Mythology: Images & Insights" is a challenging textbook for beginning mythology students, but I have found it to be worth the effort.

I use it in my own introductory college course on mythology for two reasons. First the amount of primary materials covered allows one to forgo lots of other books being ordered, a consideration for academia at this point in time. Second, the controversal interpretations of ancient society and the meaning of the myths can be balanced by either the teacher of Powell's "Classical Myth" book. I think that for the college level, this exposure to different views is valuable because it challenges students to think. Not useful beyond the introductory level though.

I am disappointed that some reviewer brought down the rating of this magnificent book with a review that is unbelievably off-target. As a mythology insructor and writer of books utilizing myth, and a psychotherapist who relates myth to the process of human transformation, I find this the most in-depth and meaningful guide to Greek mythology available - out of over 100 I have read. The questions and commentaries are particularly in-depth but above the level of junior high school and high school students. For those who wish to understand not only mythology but also its deeper implications and relevance.

We used this book in my 300-level college class and even though I found the authors to be frustratingingly wordy at times, it was still an intersting book with thought-provoking insights.

As a child, I used to read about the myths of Rome and Greece in the same light that I read fairytales. For a long time, although I knew much more about Greece and Rome than the average person, it wasn't until I started reading this book that I began to look at these myths as more than just entertaining "stories."

The secondary text (nicely supported by selections of well-known and obscure primary texts) highlight the fact that these were true beliefs and religion in their time.

Even better, the text branches out and provides commentary on mythology from a wide variety of cultures besides Greece and Rome, which helps to illuminate parrallels and points of diversion in the history of man and religion.

Cultural insights help point out the societal factors that created the gods, monsters and myths. Imagine reading that Medusa's phallic-like snake-hair and her beheading may have been a representation of unconscious male fears about castration!

Or having the striking similarities between the wild, wine god, Dionysus set up in blatant comparison to the life and works of Jesus Christ.

While much of the text is the opinion of the authors and one would do well to remember that you don't HAVE to accept every one of their interpretations, this text does a good job of showing the human, psychological side to mythology.

I was introduced to this text in grad school as a teaching assistant for an introductory class in classical mythology. This was the only text we needed- it contains generous excerpts from numerous primary sources couched in readable, enlightened commentary free from bias and slant. A preliminary section on interpreting myths glosses the full range of approaches, from externalist theories (myth as a product of environment) through religious ritual, etiology (myths as explanations of origin), to Freud, Jung and Structuralism (Levi-Strauss's notion of myth as reconciliation of the mind's discomforting dichotomies). It's a whirlwind tour but an admirable attempt to provide context.

The book provides next a large chunk of Hesiod's "Theogony," then "Works and Days" and runs down the "Olympian Family of Zeus," followed by a wonderful chapter on "The Great Goddess and Goddesses: The Divine Woman in Greek Mythology." What a refreshing dose of open-mindedness. From Demeter we pass to a chapter on Apollo then one on Dionysus (Nietzsche's insight into the Greek character implied) then to the myths of the Underworld and then "The Hero: Man Divided Against Himself." And we're only a third of the way through this book- excerpts from Homer and the great tragic dramas follow.

That said, it's an expensive book for students, especially at a small rural college. I'm teaching my own introduction to mythology class now, and although I'm not presently requiring my students to buy it, I am using it as the basis for my lectures, and I may well decide to make it the (only) required text in the future. This is the best book on the subject that I am aware of.

Used for a university course, this book is surprisingly quick to read and highly compelling. Greek myth is discussed and explained in vivid detail, while exploring beyond the confines of Greek myth, and looking to the origins of certain characters, comparisons in Egyptian, Sumerian, and Babylonian myth, as well as the potential origins of characters based upon their names, and the relations with the particular pronounciation with an Indo-European and proto-Indo-European language equivalent. The Zeus figure is shown to be a shared archetype in the mythologies of peoples as far north as the Sarmatians and as far east as the Indians.

In sections, the text tells the stories of the myth told by certain playwrights, authors, and poets, along with providing fragments, or full texts of the plays and works in question at the end of the sections/chapters regarding them. You basically don't need to even read the works themselves, but they're there in fully readable translations.

Of my complaints, I have two, neither of them particularly important.

For one, the index is poorly done. It's incredibly difficult to find specific things in this 1000+ page book based off of the index alone.

For two, the pronounciations. I shouldn't expect a strict adherence to Graeco-Roman style pronunciation (Ah-rays for "Ares", He-fai-stoos for "Hephaestus"), but the pronounciations given are atrociously wrong, even with regards to Anglicized pronounciations. Hippolytus, for example, is given to pronounce as "Hip-PAHL-ih-tus", which is a needless struggle for the tongue compared to "Hip-poh-lai-tus", which is also much closer to the true pronounciation.

Others include "dee-ya-nye-ra" for Deianeira, "uh-thee-nuh" for Athene (which is spelled in every instance as "Athene" and not "Athena"), and then suddenly putting the pronounciation for Uranus as "OOR-a-nuhs" which IS the right pronounciation in Latin/Greek. Obviously they weren't looking to have the pronouncation stretch out "Yur-ay-nus"

a comprehensive textbook of greek mythology. stacks of info & relevant pictures. easy to read/understand with review questions at the end of the chapter which is great for seeing how much relevant information has been retained. contains everything you need for a comprehensive understanding of greek mythology. what i also love is that it has a phonetic glossery so any of those tricky greek names can easily be pronounced & remembered correctly. all in all a great textbook for study, very happy with it & priced well.

The book was in great condition and the material is great! I'm a lover of Classical Mythology and this textbook is definitely helping feed that love.

I was worried originally when I bought this book for so cheap, but it exceeded my expectations. It is in very good condition, and I am pleased overall with it.