Customer Reviews

Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary (Oxford Paperback Reference)

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Arranged in dictionary format, this book not only includes an exhaustive collection of entries covering every conceivable female from classical mythology (even the bitches among Actaeon's hounds are listed by name), there is also a cross-reference section titled "The Men in Their Lives" which contains those males from mythology who had anything at all to do with any of the females covered in this book. Each entry on each mythological female not only provides a detailed description of her, but also contains citations of ancient source material. An outstanding reference source for those interested in legendary females of the classical world.

I found this book extremely useful, if a little difficult to sometimes find information in. Simply because it is only the women, it is hard sometimes to follow the thread of stories (such as the Trojan War).

As far as there being errors in it (Tammy's comment), the myths come from so many sources that any one version is bound to have disagreements with it. I feel that Robert Bell does a good job of mentioning alternate theories / myths in this book.

Very comprehensive and very readable. I love this book so much, and in ten years have never tired of it. I desperately wish he would write one for men. It's an excellent reference, and I wish every reference book I had were written in the same style.

This is one of the most exhaustively researched reference books I've ever seen; it includes totally obscure references I've never heard of before, and I'm not a neophyte in the subject. But besides being erudite, it is also witty and entertaining, surely a rare combination in a work of scholarship. Highly recommended.

My friend bought this book showed me(because he knows I love mythology) and I loved it. It is FULL OF INFORMATION of every female character of the classical mythology and their actions. I really loved this book after reading it, so now I am buying it for my personal collection.

The basic idea -- present mythology from the view/focus of the female characters is intriguing. However, I found some errors in the biographical style entries so I wouldn't recommend the book as the end all of information on women in classical mythology. The style of each entry makes it easy to read and find what you are looking for with each character. As with all such "dictionaries" the lack of specific citation can also be a problem if a reader wants to double check a statement or do further research -- but then that is what the "encyclopedia" collections are more geared toward.

This is the most helpful and comprehensive classical mythology dictionary I have found! Robert E. Bell should write one for the men. If you have a deep lasting love of classical mythology, or even if you just want to learn more, this is the book to buy.