OUP (2016) p/b 712pp £61.83 (ISBN 9780199782833)
This wide-ranging volume offers an intelligent in-depth consideration not only of the most significant and well-known of the classical (in reality, Greek) myths but of modern responses to them. Arranging her material in two parts—‘Gods and Goddesses’; ‘Heroes and Heroines’—M. takes the reader from the creation of the world to the introduction of Christianity.
Each of the thirteen chapters is divided into four main sections. The first, ‘History’, introduces the relevant characters and myths, taking into account geographical variations and historical developments, as well as linking them closely to religious ritual and quoting (in English translation) from a broad range of classical sources. In the second section, ‘Theory’, M. presents a wide variety of modern approaches to and interpretations of the myths, including four- or five-page papers (or extract from papers) by writers including W.H. Auden, Simon Goldhill, Helene Foley, Ken Dowden and Eric Csapo. In the third, ‘Comparison’, section, M. considers how similar characters and themes appear in the myths of other Mediterranean and Near Eastern societies, quoting extensively from works as diverse as the Sumerian ‘In the Desert by the Early Grass’, the Egyptian ‘Cosmologies at the Temple of Esna’, the Hebrew Bible, the Mesopotamian ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ and Roman authors, Vergil and Catullus. For the final section, M. turns to the myths’ reception in the modern world (mostly in the 20th and 21st C, but including the 19th C), considering how the visual arts, poetry, drama and film can have the effect of ‘deepening and reshaping our understanding of the original story’.
There are occasional niggles. Contrary to what M. writes, the herms were not mutilated on the morning of the Athenian fleet’s departure for Sicily in 415 BC; Cynisca was not ‘a Spartan athlete’; Dionysus was not the only god to have a tomb (Zeus had one on Mount Iuktas in Crete); and so on. But these are minor worries in such a richly stimulating and though-provoking book. Although written primarily as an OUP course book for university students, Classical Mythology will be an invaluable tool for anyone teaching the subject as well as a fascinating read for any adult with an interest in mythology. Full colour illustrations of objects both familiar and less well-known, maps and a time-line further contribute to the volume’s appeal.
Finally, it should be said that, being published by OUP, the book draws heavily on Oxford World’s Classic translations, is accompanied by an interactive website with material for both instructors and students (including quiz questions, flashcards and author videos), and makes it known that the OUP offers ‘discounted packaging for customers wishing to assign Classical Mythology with any Oxford World’s Classic text’.
David Stuttard