Title Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction Series Very Short Introductions Author Helen Morales Cover Art --- Publisher Oxford University Press - 2007 First Printing Oxford University Press - 2007 Category Non-Fiction Warnings --- Main Characters --- Main Elements Mythology

From Zeus and Europa, to Diana, Pan, and Prometheus, the myths of ancient Greece and Rome seem to exert a timeless power over us. But what do those myths represent, and why are they so enduringly fascinating? Why do they seem to be such a potent way of talking about our selves, our origins, and our desires? This imaginative and stimulating Very Short Introduction goes beyond a simple retelling of the stories to explore the rich history and diverse interpretations of classical mythology. It is a wide-ranging account, examining how classical myths are used and understood in both high art and popular culture, taking the reader from the temples of Crete to skyscrapers in New York, and finding classical myths in a variety of unexpected places: from Arabic poetry and Hollywood films, to psychoanalysis, the Bible, and New Age spiritualism.

I was actually expecting an overview of Classical Greek Mythology, like a collection of brief retellings. But in fact it was about mythology actually is, what role it plays in our life, and how it has been viewed over the centuries. Thus I will say it is not for a lazy weekend reading, it is a scholarly book meant for an in depth discussion of mythology, while still just being a short introduction.

It covers topics of how Freud based his whole psychoanalysis on the tale of Oedipus. Or how Europe and the rape of Europa by Zeus are related. How New Age religions are trying to find some strong female roles in mythology - the goddesses are powerful and independent, though of course those in who are in the more manly roles (Athena = war/architecture, Artemis = hunt) remain virgins, the ones that marry (Aphrodite = love, Hera = marriage) are clearly second to their husbands...still, you'd be well advised not to piss off either of them. Finding human or demigod females that are powerful is even harder, though there are a few like Atalanta. It also touches on Roman myth, which is not simply a renaming of the gods (Zeus = Jupiter), they were modified to match Roman ideals and have their distinctions, along with how the Roman viewed and taught mythology.

On the whole it was interesting, especially as I had spent a year reading the myths so this looks at them from a different angle, but I think unless you were already in love with and immersed in the myths, this would be a pretty dry, boring read. But if you want to learn more about how myths first told millenia ago are still woven through our modern society, it's worth a read, after all, it is short, just a little more than 100 pages.