The Gods of the Greeks

by Karl Kerényi, Carl Kerényi

Drawing on a wealth of sources, from Hesiod to Pausanias and from the Orphic Hymns to Proclus, Professor Kerényi provides a clear and scholarly exposition of all the most important Greek myths. After a brief introduction, the complex genealogies of the gods lead him from the begettings of the Titans and from Aphrodite under all her titles and aspects, to Apollo, Hermes and the reign of Zeus, touching upon the Affairs of Pan, nymphs, satyrs, cosmogonies and the birth of mankind, until he reaches the ineffable mystery of Dionysos. The lively and highly readable narrative is complemented by an appendix of detailed references to all the original texts and a fine selection of illustrations taken from vase paintings. 26 black-and-white illustrations

Genres: Mythology, History, Nonfiction, Religion, Classics, Greece, Reference

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Károly (Carl, Karl) Kerényi was one of the founders of modern studies in Greek Mythology.

Karl Kerenyi is also published under the names Carl Kerenyi and Károly Kerényi.

Reviews

[Daniel Chaikin · Rating 4 out of 5]

67. The Gods of the Greeks by Karl Kerényi
translation: from German by Norman Cameron
published: 1951
format: 286 page paperback (1994 reprint of 1979 edition)
acquired: March
read: Nov 5-12
rating: 4

wikipedia tells me Kerényi was a classical philologist and that he was a Hungarian who spent a year in Switzerland and then never left. Hungry had swung Nazi right. It also tells me that his "scientific interpretation of the figures of Greek mythology as archetypes of the human soul was in line with the approach of the Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung." This curiosity is not in display here, except for a brief comment in the introduction where he says that Greek mythology of interest for the study of human beings and that in the contemporary world that meant "of course, an interest in psychology."

Instead the The Gods of the Greeks is a straight-forward summary of everything the classical sources have to say about the Greek Gods. He cites only about 200 sources and they are all classical. He calls it a mythology of the Greek for adults. It is however, anything but straightforward. The mythology of Greeks is nowhere near as simple as Edith Hamilton, or anyone else presented it. There is simply no consistency, but numerous and endless variations. And presented in this form, in the way Kerényi does, it is a bit overwhelming, a constant barrage of uncondensable information.

"The archaic forms of so many tales have been lost that the whole body of what has reached us and can be presented has become exceedingly compact. This compactness should not be artificially loosened. Already in Ovid we find the archaic spirit has been spoilt in a process of dilution. The author has decided against trying to provide any relief of this kind. The reader's best plan, therefore, is to not absorb too much of this solid fare at a sitting, but to read only a few pages at a time—and preferably more than once, as he would read an ancient poem."

I quickly learned to follow his advice. Somewhere around ten pages at a sitting my eyes would start to cross and pressing any further, I could feel my brain actively shrinking.

What comes out of this is no one single thing. It's something of a massive compilation of information, in a very pure form. It's also striking not only how unstructured all this was, but how one thing was many things and how associations and combinations means that many of these characters whom we see as distinct - Gaia and Ouranos, Cronos & Rhea & Demeter and Persephone, Zeus & Hera, Aphrodite & Adonis, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Hermes, and Dyonisos... Prometheus, Io, Fates, Furies, Typhon etc are merely variations on the same theme - the same god or goddess concept could come in many variations then get recombined and forced apart by divine lineages. Flexibility and openness seems to have been one rule - perhaps variation from many forms of communal isolation and connection might have been another.

Certainly recommended to anyone who wants to know enough about mythology that they can finally rest assured they still really know nothing.

[Andréa Carvalho · Rating 5 out of 5]

O autor fez um trabalho de pesquisa significativo. Começa pela cosmogonia grega e depois passa para os Deuses em particular (dos titãs de forma mais abrangente e coletiva) aos principais deuses gregos seus nascimentos, mitos, cultos e mistérios com suas variações temporais e regionais.

Utiliza fontes escritas e também as imagens (mitos ilustrados encontrados na cerâmica), o que é outro ponto interessante pensar na arte pictórica dos vasos como primórdio das histórias ilustradas (quadrinhos 😉).

O leitor se depara com as variações nos mitos, o que é muito legal, nos possibilita ver a evolução cultural e até mesmo as diferenças culturais e psicológicas...
Um prato cheio para quem leu e gostou do homem de mil faces ou tem interesse pelos arquétipos junguianos.

[Edmundo Mantilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Este libro es una joya! Me hubiera gustado conocer a Kerényi, que me recuerda a una de las profesoras más entrañables que he tenido. Admiro su capacidad para conservar los vestigios de misterio en la mitología y a la vez para iluminar aspectos oscuros para quien mantiene un conocimiento insuficiente de la misma. Cada relato preserva esa intrincada conexión que hace de la sensibilidad mítica del pueblo heleno un sistema que hasta ahora nos dice mucho no solo de quiénes somos, sino de quiénes podemos ser. En ese mismo sentido, es un libro que a veces resulta árido y confuso porque se acumulan versiones del mismo mito o distintas historias para una misma diosa, para un mismo dios. No es tanto un desenredo, como aquel precioso enredarse de las palabras y de las historias en nosotros.

[Giorgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se penso che mi manca l'altra metà del saggio, un po' muoio dentro. Comunque Kerényi fa un ottimo lavoro di ricostruzione delle differenti versioni del mito, indagando con attenzione le origini degli stessi, scavando nel profondo anche le storie che diamo per scontate e riteniamo più lineari.

[Steve Cran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one book that will take you to the very beginning of creation and take you all the way up to the birth and death of Dionysus. Get ready for a roller coaster because that is what Greek mythology really is, a roller coaster. Different Gods and Goddesses are sometimes identified as each other. Sometimes the son is the father to a God depending on the Author that you read. Karl Kerenyi pulled from different sources and they each have their own version. He read from Homer, Hesiod or Orpheus. Kerneyi's style can be tough to get through. He tells the story and then midway gives you explanations and counter explanations. I shall try to give an accurate summary.

Orkeanos was a river god who with his wife gave birth to the Titans and creation. Some say that the Goddess Nyx dropped an egg and the Earth and sky fertilized it cause the egg to hatch. Orkeanos had a wife a wife Thetis and they had a daughter called Tethys. Sometimes those two names are interchanged as though they are the same identity. The next generation was Oranos and Gaia who gave birth to the Titans. The Titans are strong and powerful yet unworthy of worship. Kronos was the king and he was weary of his son, a son usurping his throne. What did Kronos do? He put one son down to the depths of the sea and the others he ate. Zeus would be hidden in a cave and nursed by nursemaids. Zeus was would rise up and challenge the Titans. There were Castrations involved that went through generation to generation. Seems father and sons had issues. Once the Titans were defeated they were banished to Tartarus. After the defeat of the Titans a group of giants rose up. Zeus would later challenge and take on Typhon the dragon. Gaia, Rhea and Thetis are sometimes seen as a triple goddess or three parts of the same being. The trinity theory run through the Morai who are the fates that determine the life of men and gods. The Erinye are avengers, The Grai are triple deities born with grey hairs. At times they are seen as one other times as three. Euribya is a goddess like this andd she is called the steel hearted Goddess.

Demeter or the mother is sometimes conflated with Rhea and or Gaia. Zeus makes love to her or rapes her and begets Persephone and then he rapes her. Hades is scene as a dark cthonic aspect of Zeuss. Hades abducts Persephone with Zeus's permission. This cause Demeter to go into mourning and all of agricultural to shut down. She stop in a kingdom and teaches the mysteries to her followers there. Eventually Persephone returns after eating a pomegranite. Hermes, Hekate and the Helios play a role. Some legend s hold that Persephone never bothered coming back. She reigned as Queen of the underworld. Of course we all know that she returns for part of the year and then goes back to the underworld. The legend does hint at female sovereignty in approving a marriage, which is why Zeus had to do it behind her back.

Persephone is not the only deity to spend part of the year in the land of the dead. A young queen fell in love with her father and begat a child. He was killed in a hunting accident but since Aphrodite loved him so much he only had to spend a limited time of the year there and then he rotates back and forth. With this very reminiscent of Dammuzi and Ishtar. In fact Ishtar is Aphrodite in Greek guise. Ishtar was born from an egg in the river that was pushed up by fish. Aphrodite was born in the sea from the castrated testicle of Ouranos. She was the Goddess of love. At first she was wed to Hephastos the blacksmith good who was a dwarf and lame. But that was not destined to last. She ended up cavorting with Aries, the God of War. Later on she would wed Pygmaliona dwarf king who fell in love with her statue.She would also couple with Hermes and bear children the most noteable is Hermaphrodite.

Aries was Zeus's least favorite. Hermes was born from Zeus and an nymph named Maia.He would start out his life by tricking a tortoise and killing it and stealing it's shell to make a musical instrument. Next he would steal Appollo's cattle. This caused a dispute and Hermes would give him the musical instrument later on. There was an exchange of gifts. Hermes is a master thief, flatterer and word smith. He would beget Pan, a satyr type being. He would make his way to Olympus and be adoptd by Dionysys another hormed deity. Hephastos was the first born of Hera and Zeus but was cast out for being ugly.

The book has lots of info. It tells about the four generations of human being. Also covered is the life and death of Dionysus. This book is packed with information. I read through it really quickly but it is dense. Hope you enjoy.

[Mesoscope · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a review of the content, it is a review of the translation of the Thames & Hudson 1951 edition, which is very terrible. The langauge is unidiomatic and often painful to read, and the translation is marred by omissions from the German edition I posess, as well as by outright errors.

I searched this book unsuccessfully for an indication of who rendered it into English - it does not appear to be stated. It should be treated as unreliable.

[Delia Colvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books for research on Greek mythology! I use this book as my "go to" for great research on ancient Greece. In all of my research I've found his to be some of the best around.

[Amahlia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good for compilation of the majority of Greek Deities, and their myths etc.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exhaustivo

[Teri · Rating 1 out of 5]

The back of this book says it is a “lively and highly readable narrative”. That is a lie.

This book is actually an incredibly dense academic text focused primarily on etymology. The book is organized based on different categories of greek gods so any stories are told out of chronological order with multiple versions of the same story somehow being told in parallel. The author is devoted to scholarly accuracy so he does not add any narrative embellishment or analysis that would make this book remotely interesting.

By the time I realized what this book truly was, I had already sunk in enough time to feel motivated to finish the book so I could write this review.

Unless you are getting an advanced degree in greek mythology, do not read this book.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 1951, this collection of Greek mythology contained a diverse grouping of stories. I loved that it not only told the most common versions made popular by Ovid, but delved into Hesiod, as well as showing how the tales changed with the locations. The reading can be a bit choppy at times as the author will bring up a god, only to state that his/her story will be continued later. Choppy reading aside, I found this book to be a good source of the various versions of Greek mythology, and greatly enjoyed the read. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in reading about the lesser known versions of these well known myths.

[Donne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only got about halfway through this book before I gave it up. When reading greek mythology, I prefer to read it in story form, which is just so much more interesting and enjoyable. Greek mythology that reads like and encyclopedia is sooo boring.

[Kas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good, quality, informative place to start if you want to dive further into Greek mythology, especially if you're looking for something closer to the original myths and not watered down, distorted versions.

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the definitive work on the Greek Gods and their meaning. You just know that Kerenyi senses the subtle realities behind what he is writing about.

[Alessia♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una raccolta completa e veramente esaustiva di tutti i miti greci. A tratti un po' pesante a causa dell'impostazione accademica del testo, l'autore ha una conoscenza immensa della materia, elenca spesso diverse varianti di un solo mito assieme ad una lunga genealogia di Dei ed eroi. Da leggere con pazienza e solo se si è davvero interessati all'argomento.
(Meglio avere già una buona conoscenza di base della mitologia e del teatro greco per comprendere meglio certi passaggi)

[Pattycita Ptvh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como su nombre lo dice solo trata de Dioses desde la cosmogenesis, pasando por los titanes, dioses olímpicos hasta antes de la época heróica.... Es un libro diferente no son simples narraciones de mitos, cada historia es una compilación de fuentes relacionadas con ese mito haciéndolo más interesante, diverso y atractivo al lector

[Ivan Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es una recopilación mitológica de uno de los más reconocidos eruditos en religión antigua, quien en este volumen abarca lo dicho y escrito acerca de los dioses.
De manera amena aborda la mitología griega exponiendo sus variantes y sus fuentes sin abrumar al lector con notas al pie
A pesar de la forma tan comprensible en que está escrito, deja percibir en todo momento su rigor académico.

[Carmen Coto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un lindo libro de referencia, pero es un toque pesado como lectura de corrido. Tiene un hermoso nivel de detalle, igual.

[ury949 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very thorough list of Greek gods with all referenced perspectives in the myths, but only as relating to the gods. The specific stories of the heroes and monsters are not detailed unless they coincide with the stories of the gods. So in that respect it was disappointing, but otherwise it was really great. Unfortunately, it didn't have the best organization, causing you to have to skip around the book to find information you may be interested in. Not as good for quick reference, but reading through it was fun.

[Antoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book (and its companion about heroes) is an interesting compromise between the simpler retellings, like D'Aulaire's and denser and more complicated renderings like Graves or Calasso. It is scholarly and comprehensive, but also straightforward and readable. The use of non-standard (non-latinate) transliterations of names from the Greek(Oidipous for the more familiar Oedipus, for instance) can be unnecessarily confusing.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deep, yet not unreadable book. Kerenyi loves his subject and it's reflected in his writing style. It's definitely scholarly, and a wealth of various stories of the Greek gods. My advice to anyone who wishes to read it would be that they should have a basic familiarity with the mythos and pantheon, along with the alternate spelling of names before they read it, as that can cause some confusion for the novice. Other than that - a fantastic read!

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensly; I read it twice so I could easily pronounce and better remember the names of the titans, gods, heroesm, and places. This book is not for a novice to mythology but it is very good. Start with Bulfinch!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely five stars, but it did take forever to read. I always had to stop and look up how to pronounce so many words and names. Hindsight tells me that I should have made my own family tree for the titans, gods, and others, all starting at page one.

[Peter Caputo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great reference to the more traditional stories. Like Edith Hamilton in her Mythology book, Karl preserves the origins and culture of the greek context of these stories and his style is easily readable.

[M]

I didn't like the book. I didn't know it was just about the story of the Gods, I thought is was some good story with a main character and that kind of stuff that we usually read.

[Kim Canich · Rating 4 out of 5]

very insightful :)

[Jaseena AL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating : 4 stars