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Mythology [Paperback]

Edith Hamilton
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (231 customer reviews)


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Mythology Mythology 4.2 out of 5 stars (231)
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Book Description

September 14, 1998
Since its original publication by Little, Brown and Company in 1942, Edith Hamilton's Mythology has sold millions of copies throughout the world and established itself as a perennial bestseller in its various available formats: hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback, and e-book. Mythology succeeds like no other book in bringing to life for the modern reader the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths and legends that are the keystone of Western culture - the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Edith Hamilton loved the ancient Western myths with a passion--and this classic compendium is her tribute. "The tales of Greek mythology do not throw any clear light upon what early mankind was like," Hamilton explains in her introduction. "They do throw an abundance of light upon what early Greeks were like--a matter, it would seem, of more importance to us, who are their descendents intellectually, artistically, and politically. Nothing we learn about them is alien to ourselves." Fans of Greek mythology will find all the great stories and characters here--Perseus, Hercules, and Odysseus--each discussed in generous detail by the voice of an impressively knowledgeable and engaging (with occasional lapses) narrator. This is also an excellent primer for middle- and high-school students who are studying ancient Greek and Roman culture and literature. --Gail Hudson

Review

"Edith Hamilton retells the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths with a sure taste and scholarship that help to restore their quality as perennial and refreshing fables about human nature, including our own." (The New Yorker)

"No one in modern times has shown us more vividly than Edith Hamilton 'the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome.' Filtering the golden essence from the mass of classical literature, she proved how applicable to our daily lives are the humor and wisdom of more than 2,000 years ago." (New York Times) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 512 pages
  • Publisher: Back Bay Books (September 14, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0316341517
  • ISBN-13: 978-0316341516
  • Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.3 x 8.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (231 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Edith Hamilton, an educator, writer and a historian, was born August 12, 1867 in Dresden, Germany, of American parents and grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Her father began teaching her Latin when she was seven years old and soon added Greek, French, and German to her curriculum. Hamilton's education continued at Miss Porter's School in Farmington, Connecticut, and at Bryn Mawr College near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which she graduated in 1894 with an M.A. degree. The following year, she and her sister Alice went to Germany and were the first women students at the universities of Munich and Leipzich.
Hamilton returned to the United States in 1896 and accepted the position of headmistress of the Bryn Mawr Preparatory School in Baltimore, Maryland. For the next twenty-six years, she directed the education of about four hundred girls per year. After her retirement in 1922, she started writing and publishing scholarly articles on Greek drama. In 1930, when she was sixty-three years old, she published The Greek Way, in which she presented parallels between life in ancient Greece and in modern times. The book was a critical and popular success. In 1932, she published The Roman Way, which was also very successful. These were followed by The Prophets of Israel (1936), Witness to the Truth: Christ and His Interpreters (1949), Three Greek Plays, translations of Aeschylus and Euripides (1937), Mythology (1942), The Great Age of Greek Literature (1943), Spokesmen for God (1949) and Echo of Greece (1957). Hamilton traveled to Greece in 1957 to be made an honorary citizen of Athens and to see a performance in front of the Acropolis of one of her translations of Greek plays. She was ninety years old at the time. At home, Hamilton was a recipient of many honorary degrees and awards, including election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Edith Hamilton died on May 31, 1963 in Washington, D.C.

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Customer Reviews

I recommend this book to everyone that has the slightest interest in Greek and Roman mythology. Philip Gilsdorf  |  70 reviewers made a similar statement
All in all a very informative book that is easy to read. M. J. Williams  |  37 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
157 of 159 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A good book for entertainment or education July 19, 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Hamilton's mythology deserves its place with Bulfinch's mythology as one of the primary anthologies of classical mythology. Although the book covers Greek/Roman myths thoroughly, the Norse myths are touched upon only briefly, which is why I have given the book four stars rather than five. Nonetheless, the quality of the book is excellent, and it is useful as a volume to be read for entertainment, and as a classroom primer (I myself have taught a Mythology class using it as the primary textbook). Hamilton's retellings are engaging, and her scholasticism is evident throughout--a small example is her use of the less popular Roman names for the primary gods (Jupiter, Juno, Mars, etc.) when they are found in myths of Roman origin. Hamilton also includes information at the beginning of most chapters about the source of the myth and its author, which is very helpful. She synthesizes the longer myths, such as the Trojan War (found in the Iliad) and the quest for the golden fleece in such a way as to highlight their major events and give the reader a flavor of their content. Overall, I have not encountered a better survey of classical mythology in one volume. Incidentally, if the reader desires more information on the Norse Myths, I recommend Kevin Crossley-Holland's Norse Myths, which is also an excellent volume.
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95 of 98 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars All You'll Likely Need May 13, 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
"Mythology" covers all the major and most minor Greek, Norse and Roman gods, goddesses, stories and locales. Edith Hamilton makes no pretenses that this is all there is to say on mythology, but she gives a reader a fine start.

Hamilton puts them into sensible structures so beginners can learn in a context which are easy to understand. She provides major section titles helping readers get straight to the required story, like "Stories of Love and Adventure" You'll find "Cupid and Psyche" as a chapter.

Chapters are named mostly by story like, "The Trojan War."

She quotes from the sources, so the reader knows how it is she got her information.

Character-driven in format, readers can look up a name, find the subtitle with that name, and read why that character matters. She writes narratively, sounding a little like "Cliff's Notes." This is a good thing, because the poetry from which these myths are drawn can be overwhelming.

Nicely organized is the geneological table section. It looks like a family tree, in a English royalty kind of way.

As a writer, I use it for a quick reference guide. I usually only need a few nuggets of information, and she gives me plenty. I first acquired it high school, using it to get out of those tough jams when I did not understand books like "The Odyssey," by Homer.

More than mere reference, "Mythology" is good reading for no other purpose than serendipitous curiosity.

I fully recommend it.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
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124 of 131 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Edith Hamilton's "Mythology" tell the "Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" of classical mythology and this volume, first written in 1942, is now a timeless classic itself. This was the first book of mythology that I ever read and it is still the best. When Hamilton retells the love story of Cupid and Psyche or the tragedy of Agamemnon and his children, she does so with a full sense of what it meant when first told by Apuleius or Aeschylus. These are not children's tales, but the heroic legends and religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks. Furthermore, the illustrations by Steele Savage have the elegance of wood block prints, which, for all I know, is exactly what they are. I appreciate Hamilton's choice to avoid relying on Ovid, for while the "Metamorphoses" is the most comprehensive ancient text dealing with the classical myths, Ovid is an unbeliever. For Hamilton the writings of Homer, Hesiod and Pindar are more abbreviated in terms of providing details for the myths, but at least they take the tales seriously.

Another strength of the book is how she organizes the myths in her seven parts: (1) Covers the complete pantheon of deities, including the lesser gods of Olympus and Earth and the later Roman additions, as well as the earliest heroes. (2) Retells the various tales of love, between mortals and the gods or each other, along with the Quest for the Golden Fleece and other early heroic adventures. (3) Focuses specifically on the greatest heroes, Perseus, Theseus and Hercules, with Atalanta thrown in the mix in a curious but understandable editorial decision by Hamilton. (4) Puts together Homer's Iliad and Virgil's Aeneid into a giant epic stretching from the Judgment of Paris to the founding of Roman, with the Odyssey and the tragedies of Euripides....

I looked over other possibilities as a basic textbook for an introductory mythology course, but I keep coming back to this one. If you want analysis of these myths, then you certainly want to look elsewhere. But if you want a solid retelling of virtually every tale of classical mythology, then Edith Hamilton's volume is still at the top of the list. Read more ›

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67 of 74 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars MYTHOLOGY FOR THE REST OF US January 25, 2000
Format:Paperback
Long ago in pre-history, 1973 to be exact, in the age of vinyl records, before the Internet and Play Station and Cable T.V. and the almost insulting stuff that gets peddled to kids these days as entertainment, an acne faced 13 year old bought this book because, in those days, the cover had this guy holding a sword and a severed head on the front, (Perseus holding the head of Medusa), and I thought COOL! And I fell in love with these wonderful stories. I still have that much worn, much loved, much dog-eared paperback on my book shelves that later in life inspired me to read other myths of other times and places, which lead me to James Joyce, Flannery O'Connor and T.C.Boyle and a life-long head over heels romance with literature. Edith Hamilton's book is a good beginning for anyone at any age to begin, or continue, the remarkable adventure that is human story telling.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Daughter's favorite
My daughter loves this book. Bought this to replace an old copy that was misplaced. Love this wonderful book! Recommended ...
Published 7 days ago by D. Jordan
5.0 out of 5 stars A good book
This is a great book for Geek and Norse mythology. The book mainly focus on the Greek but it is still great reading.
Published 11 days ago by kyle eggers
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book!
This book is great if you are interested in Greek/Roman mythology, however it is not great for Norse. Read more
Published 16 days ago by Emma
4.0 out of 5 stars Best mythology book ever
The book was in ok condition considering its about seventy years old and at a rock bottom price. Thank you.
Published 21 days ago by nb30
5.0 out of 5 stars Was great
The book arrived on time and in good condition. My son sayd that this is the same book as the newer version that has a different cover.
Published 28 days ago by Jeffrey W. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading
My battered old copy of this book has been around - it may have been required reading for my father back in high school. Read more
Published 1 month ago by T. Burrows
2.0 out of 5 stars Bad Book but for a good use
The reasons I didn't like the book are as follows: One, the cover on the computer is not the book that came to my door. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Gio
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative
The book arrived in good condition in good time. Very imformative. I didn't take mythology as a kid, this helped me to catch up
Published 1 month ago by Lisa
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic for mythology lovers
I bought this for my mythology-loving 10yo, and bought a copy for myself as well. Beautifully written/translated, and I've learned so much about the myths that form the basis for... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Amanda Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolute Perfection
The book is a great read. Anyone interested in brushing up on Ancient Greek Mythology, here's the only book you'll need.
Published 1 month ago by Edward
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