The Greek Myths: Stories of the Greek Gods and Heroes Vividly Retold

I am a beginner when it comes to knowing anything about Greek myths and this was the perfect book to tell me all about them. It's told in a story telling manner that's easy to understand but not patronising and with lots of description that makes it an enjoyable read. There were lots of confusing names that made it a little tricky to follow but that's in the nature of Greek myths I guess. Sometimes within sections it did tend to jump around a bit, which got a little confusing but rereading the last couple of sentences sometimes helped to clarify my understanding. Overall however, it was a great purchase that I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys the topic and reading, not for children but not so complex that it's for academic purposes. :) x

I bought this book for my teenage daughter as a bridge between the childrens versions of the Greek Myths and the translated texts. It gives comprehensive unbowdlerised coverage of all the stories,(even Rosemary Sutcliff's superb retelling of the Illiad omits the sacrifice of Iphigenea) but for me its chief strength is in the quality and range of the illustrations used. These go from early greek pottery to 21st century sculpture, beautifully reproduced to match the high production values of the book itself, making it a joy to own. I would have bought it for the pictures alone. The text is fine, if sometimes showing the 'joins' between two authors and thus aiming at poetic effect in some areas and not others, but my daughter read it straight through without any complaints and I may be showing my age here. If I was only interested in the text I would stick to Robert Graves, but I am not sure my daughter would agree. I will probably test that this Christmas!

It's been a while since I brushed up on my Greek mythology, and so I thought I'd find a decent book on the subject. Wow, that proved harder than I was hoping. It seems there are plenty that either take the 'for kids' approach, or the 'skim the surface but with nice pictures' approach, or even the pretentiously academic and exclusive' approach to the subject. What I wanted was a refresher on the myths themselves, written in a style that was both informative, authoritative and accessible for a fifty year old with plenty of brain cells left. I found it, eventually, in 'The Greek Myths' which has the perfect sub-title of 'stories of the Greek gods and heroes vividly retold.' A reasonably average-sized paperback (300 pages) with just an eight page illustrative plate insert. The rest is all text, easily readable text that neither patronize nor excludes the reader. The authors obviously know their stuff, both being scholars and writers specialising in Greek history and mythology. More importantly, they both know how to communicate their obvious knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject. I'm lapping this up, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to either discover or rediscover the wonderful world of the Greeks gods...

This text is okay. If it didn’t describe itself as ‘vividly’ retelling the stories of gods and heroes, I’d be happy to give it more stars. Compared to Fry’s recent work, this is more thorough, but nowhere near as entertaining. Fry’s version - by the way - is probably much closer to the ancient spirit of myth-telling than this. In short, the writing is clunky and amateurish throughout, the structure is in places bizarre, the focus on genealogy frequently detracts from the narrative. The lack of commentary is also frustrating - other reviewers have observed deviations from commonly-accepted bits of mythology (ie that Achilles was dipped in the Styx). I would award two stars for writing, but an extra star is awarded for the genuinely beautiful collection of art that is used as supporting illustrations. Excellent choices, in a range of styles, a wonderful touch.

Nice book Some pictures Easy to read

This is a nice book for those looking for an introduction into the Greek myths. My only qualm with it really is that the prose and the stories are a little simple... if you already have a basic understanding of the main tales, then this book isn't going to give you anything else additional to the knowledge you already have. It's definitely a book for those who aren't looking to get into the stories seriously and just want a basic point of reference. Otherwise, it's a nice light read and not too overwhelming. So perfect for someone looking to be inspired; it definitely leaves you wanting a more in-depth look...! I find myself now very interested in other interpretations and any different perceptions of these classic mythological stories.

The way to think of this book is not as an academic piece of work or homework but just go with the flow. I read it to fill in gaps of the Greek mythology stories and characters as I knew some of the stories but not in any great depths. This book lays out the main Gods and Goddess's first and it feels like a bit of a trudge but stick with it! As it cleverly layers them all back into the various myths throughout the book. I loved the way it was set out and by the end had got to understand more if the stories, places and characters - which was my goal. Really nicely written the stories are fantastic in every sense of the word!

Excellent piece! I am giving the book five stars for its readability, flow and the passion with which it is written. Having only a very scanty idea of the Greek mythology, I find the book immensely informative and entertaining. The book has been my companion on the London underground. Description of events in the book is so vivid that you can form mental images of such scenes as Zeus presiding over the Olympian pantheon, Heracles' many labours, Odysseus' journey etc. My favourite story is "The Judgment of Paris". You can effortlessly visualise Paris standing in front of the three goddesses and Hermes as he struggles to judge the fairest of the deities. This is really an interesting book.