Mythology

By: Edith Hamilton

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

Dive into the timeless tales of gods and heroes in this bestselling A-to-Z encyclopedia detailing classic myths and legends—perfect for curious readers and academics alike.

Edith Hamilton's mythology succeeds like no other book in bringing to life for the modern reader the Greek, Roman and Norse myths that are the keystone of Western culture-the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present.

We follow the drama of the Trojan War and the wanderings of Odysseus. We hear the tales of Jason and the Golden Fleece, Cupid and Psyche, and mighty King Midas. We discover the origins of the names of the constellations. And we recognize reference points for countless works for art, literature and culture inquiry-from Freud's Oedipus complex to Wagner's Ring Cycle of operas to Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra

Both a reference text for scholars of all ages and a book to simply enjoy, Mythology is a classic not to be missed.

Actually Greek with Roman versions and a few Norse

This is an old book, published around 75 years ago, but still rates as one of the best on its topic. If you want to better understand the stories you’ve heard of Narcissus, Hercules, Poseidon, Cupid, and much more, then this is a good book to read. Since we’re talking about stories from a few thousand years ago, it’s not surprising that there is more than one version of the story and often there’s a Roman one adapted from the original Greek one. The author tells the stories from the most reliable sources, talks about the family relationships of the gods in the pantheon, and gives some of the context of the stories. By reading the myths, you can better understand the people and culture that produced them. However, you’ll also find how much our own stories are based on those of the Greek gods or sometimes their Roman versions. 

And that points out the main weakness of the book. It makes it seems that myths are solely the product of Greece and Rome, with a few thrown in from Norse mythology. And, the section on the Norse gods is very brief and seems to be just tacked on as an afterthought. So, the book title is a bit misleading in that it doesn’t let you know that we’re really only talking about those that had the most influence on western culture. Of course, those are the ones that its target audience would likely be most interested in, especially considering when the book was published. And, a book that broadened out to even a few of the other major cultural traditions would encompass much more than one volume. Still, the title should state what it is really covering. 

That doesn’t detract from the content, however. It is well-researched and interesting to read. It is written for a general audience, not for scholars, and doesn’t get bogged down in detail or boring analysis. It’s for us.  

Great insight on Greek and Roman--barely any Norse

I really enjoyed this book, quite thoroughly. Only complaint is it billed Norse mythology as being included but the truth is that it was covered in the last 40 minutes of a 14.5 hour long book.
Edith Hamilton writes with the air of a consummate educator, and Suzanne Toren's voice feels like the perfect match. I could easily imagine her in a lecture hall. Hamilton saves the audience quite a bit of time by taking the perspective of multiple authors and either blending for a cohesive story or contrasting their views when appropriate. She gives insight into the writing styles of ancient writers, whether they are separated by time or culture. As mentioned, the Norse selection is incredibly brief but, as with the rest of the text, insightful by going beyond merely repeating the stories.

Great classic of myths retold in English

I was enchanted by the stories in this book as a teenager, but a little less so as an adult. The narration style can get a little monotonous.

The definitive work on Greek Mythology for casual fans.

This is a classic for a reason. If you are looking for an introduction to Greek mythology, this is your best option. Edith Hamilton was a very well regarded classicist in her day, and she did a fantastic job of making the myths easily digestible while remaining true to the source material.

Good information

I knew very little about mythology and decided to get this book. It’s not one cohesive story as you may imagine but many stories broken into sections and parts. Focus is on Greek and Roman with a touch of Norse. I learned quite a bit and so this book served its purpose well.