Thames and Hudson (2016) h/b 272 pp £14.95 (ISBN 9780500518328)
Greek myths, whether of local or wider origin, are tied firmly to the Greek landscape: gods are everywhere, especially in features such as rivers, woods, mountains and even breezes. The major gods have their favourite places, while places such as Thebes or Troy are the focal point of stories. This ‘traveller’s guide’ is not a compendium of Greece’s obscure local myths, but a selection of a wide range of mostly better-known myths told by a mixture of translation and narration, although it is not always the most common myths that feature: the double birth of Dionysus, for example, is not ascribed to the completion of his gestation in Zeus’ thigh, but to the reconstruction of the god from his heart after the Titans had dismembered and eaten him.
The myths are set in 22 locations across mainland Greece, the islands and in 2 cases Turkey, but the book is not meant to offer an itinerary, except in the imagination. Sites are introduced with evocative, often idyllic descriptions of soaring eagles, chirring cicadas, glistening cliffs or gentle wooded hills, but sometimes less idyllic observations of cans and plastic bags, or ‘the concrete eczema of modern architecture’ (a vitriolic metaphor describing the face of Athens). In each chapter some historical and topographical information is included under the title ‘History and Today’ and a boxed section ‘Some Important Dates and Remains’ offers a brief tour of the sites and occasional advice: ‘beware of strong currents’ warns readers not to emulate the birth of Aphrodite.
It might seem that S. has presented us with a farrago of myth, history and assorted information, but the major achievement of this book is to have woven this disparate material into a coherent presentation of the myths in their Greek context. The stories themselves are written in a highly engaging, direct style, often with extracts from ancient authors introducing them or embedded in the narrative. Choice of detail is often astute and entertaining: S. can’t resist Strabo’s observation that Lysimachus persuaded the citizens of Ephesus to relocate their city by blocking the storm drains during a downpour. Occasionally some further clarification would help: readers may be left wondering where on the Parthenon Frieze the idea of rebirth is to be found. But both philhellenes and readers new to the subject will find much to delight and amuse. The copious drawings, based on original sources and uniform in colour and style, illustrate both myths and sites, and enhance the presentation and unity of the book.
Alan Beale