Classical Mythology

A Very Short Introduction

By: Helen Morales

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 3 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

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 audiobook 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 listener 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.

©2007 Helen Morales (P)2021 Tantor

not a good book

This is a vile book.

I was hoping for a summary/overview of Greek myth, instead I get warmed-over Foucault, cultural studies nonsense. Yes friends, it's all about Power, nothing else has any importance! Complete rubbish! Oh yes, this is Oxford University Press producing this garbage? How on earth did that happen?
Also, what is with these beastly mispronunciations? Isn't anyone listening to these recordings? Pronouncing "nous" as "noose"? Butchering "philologist"? Yes, the reader has a lovely voice and she reads clearly, but really! Sadly, this is a problem on many audiobooks.
Fortunately, I only paid $9.00 for this thing. If only I could remove it from my library...

Ideological Mythology

If you're looking for an introduction to mythology, there are many others books that actually introduce mythology, rather than the current popular trend of viewing mythology as makes ideology. Very disappointing.

Woeful: poorly titled, written, and structured

I came to this introduction to classical mythology thinking, after having read some of the negative reviews, that an introduction to classical mythology could not be that bad. Unfortunately, this book lived up to those negative reviews, and for a number of reasons.

Firstly, this book is erroneously and perhaps deceptively titled. It should be titled: classical mythology in modern culture, as Morales reads a variety of classical Greek myths in terms of how they appear today, on the Euro coin, on the front of buildings, and in photographs of socialites. This introduction, therefore, is not really about classical mythology but a kind of pseudo-anthropological cultural-studies based analysis of myth in modern culture.

Secondly, the introduction lacks any coherent structure, so that the chapters read like rambling descriptions of mythological narratives, and how they have changed over time. Some of these discussions prove interesting, but they lack much substance. Indeed, sometimes a chapter just ends, and you are left wondering: what was that all about? What was the meaning of that chapter?

Thirdly, the writing is fairly turgid and some of the chapters tend to meander of into discussion that read more like gossip and hearsay than empirical-based analysis driven by some governing thesis.

The Golden Bough is on Audible and, while seriously long, i would recommend it to anyone interested in the relationship between myth and ritual. I would not recommend this title.