Who's Who in Greek and Roman Mythology

by David Kravitz

Notes the identifying features and full family relationships of each figure in the mythologies and legends of ancient Greece and Rome, while separate entries identify places, creatures, and objects of relevant importance or note

Genres: Mythology, Religion, Greece, Nonfiction

246 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1977

Reviews

[J]

This is one of those books that I entered into with high expectations and found that it just wasn't as good as I had hoped. Although it was very informative it was too wordy and repetitive for my taste.

The book did a very thorough job in allowing the reader to get to know the deities of the Classical Age. It also shared some Ancient Egyptian deities, some geographical regions and even real people whether they had been deified or not.

What the book didn't include was good organization. For example with Niobe who had twelve children and her husband, you had fourteen repetitive paragraphs that basically more or less read the same with just the change of the main name and gender. And in other cases you had two similar entries since of name variations and/or basic entries such as the Roman god(dess) of....

If I had been the compiler I would have maybe just split the book into main family groups and then listed certain individuals with more information if there was more. Although it wouldn't have been in alphabetical order like this one I think it would have been easier to look up and not so congested.

At the same time there was no index for the reader but a nice little listing of Roman festival dates. And there was also no pronunciation guide, which I would have loved to have had with some of the harder names.

Finally some of the entries were a bit lacking. Either they made vague mentions to the mythoi that the individual was a character of or in some cases just skipped it while leaving you with a hanging suspense as one character had been transformed but not for any given reason.

For what it was this book would have been a great addition to any collection for those who like mythoi or getting to know a bit more about these Greco-Roman characters. Otherwise it was a hard, dull and repetitive read from cover-to-cover.

[Skallagrimsen]

Little more than a list of characters and concepts from Greek and Roman myth, with only the most threadbare descriptive text. Still, a useful basic reference in the days before the internet.

[Serena]

From this I learned about Anaxo (abducted by Theseus from Troezen); Medusa's hair (given to Sterope by Heracles to protect Tegea, Arcadia); reminded of Kairos, brother to Areion...

`Adrastos, son of Talaus, son of Kretheeus, the very first of the Danai to drive his famous horses, swift Kairos and Areion of Thelpousa, whom near the grove of Apollon Ogkaios, Gaia (Earth) herself sent up, a marvel for mortals to see.'

Also about Polydamna, wife of Thon, Egyptian king, giving the herb nepenthe (a medicine for sorrow, literally an anti-depressant – a "drug of forgetfulness") to Helen.

And a few more things too, some accurate, some not.

[Ashley]

I remember checking this out of the library as a kid and thinking it was simply the best. Made a great companion to my copy of D'Aulaires' book of greek myths. Was able to buy it later at a book sale and have cherished it ever since. While not specifically written for kids I would recommend for young readers who are interested in Greek and Roman mythology but have trouble keeping track of everyone.

[Valerie]

This book is amazing, It has been so helpful to learn about Greek Mythology which I, for some reason find so interesting. It's reliable unlike whats on the Internet. I'd recommend it to anyone. You could use it as a resource, or just read it to understand the Greeks beliefs

[Steve Clark]

Edition: Book Club (BCE/BOMC)