Myths of the Greeks and Romans

by Michael Grant

In this insightful and absorbing book, distinguished historian and classical scholar Michael Grant demonstrates the dynamic effect that ancient mythology has had on the creative efforts of succeding centuries. He summarizes all the myths as well as the legends of the lesser gods and heroes, and traces their origins in historical fact or religious myth. He then shows how myths have continued to evolve throughout the ages. The author's brilliant investigations lead from Pericles to Picasso, Homer to Freud, Apuleius to Grimm - and prove that mythological themes have been continuously restated in art, science, and folklore, up to the present day. Lively and fascinating, this in-depth study is complemented by maps, genealogical tables, and 64 pages of photographs. Included, too, are an appendix on additional myths, chapter notes, and an updated bibliography and index.

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

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Michael Grant was an English classisist, numismatist, and author of numerous popular books on ancient history. His 1956 translation of Tacitus’s Annals of Imperial Rome remains a standard of the work. He once described himself as "one of the very few freelances in the field of ancient history: a rare phenomenon". As a popularizer, his hallmarks were his prolific output and his unwillingness to oversimplify or talk down to his readership.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[James Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Grant is one of the greatest historians of the classical world. I have read several of his books and this compendium of mythology did not disappoint me. In the essays included here Grant does more than summarize each of the major myths of the Greeks and Romans; he also discusses the influence culture had on them and that they have had on subsequent literature. Thus there are discussions not only of Shakespeare's extensive use of these myths, but also adaptations and interpretations by authors from Milton and Keats to Eliot and Kazantzakis. The result is a treasure trove of information for those interested in literary history and the history of ideas. The inclusion of a generous bibliography and index augments the value of this volume.

[Joslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as good as Edith Hamilton's Mythology, but still well written, just not as well organized. It has some great illustrations, though, and an short story meets non-fiction style of telling the tales. It's not really a read through type of book, but serves better as a go to for information on a particular myth.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

god fucking finally. definitely reads like a textbook at times which oscillates between good and bad. will definitely teach you things you didn’t know about myths. talked about freud too much for my liking.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scholarly study of mythology from Greek and Roman times. Each chapter has a brief synopsis of the myth to be studied and then the story of its origin, development, and impact on future literature. Starts with the oldest, Homer, and moves along chronologically through Euripides and Virgil and Ovid, along with many others.

Interesting work follows how myths developed, from the original oral songlike tradition to written plays where the song is maintained through the use of the Chorus. Eventually the chorus is abandoned but still the singing cadence is maintained by most myths being written in poetic metre.

Informative without being boring.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Misleading title - this isn't just another retelling of the classical myths; Michael Grant's aim is to look at the influence of the myths through Western history - from the idea of the hero, to the Oedipus complex. I found that a lot of it seemed debatable, especially the (mostly implicit) idea that the Greeks and Romans invented the myths in a way that other ancient cultures didn't - is Gilgamesh a hero in the same way as Achilles, or than protagonists in wider cultures with mythologies across the globe?

The book belongs to the past, in that it really seems to be claiming a special place for classical culture, which.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lot of stuff I already knew and have read, some newer information sprinkled in to keep it interesting. Just not a very well-laid-out book. I feel like starting from Gaia and the Giants is a little played out.

[Arktos · Rating 4 out of 5]

requires a bit more background on greek myths than i had but gives a good exposure to a wide variety of them plus some info on how theyve influenced western culture since their writing

[Vasha7 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because I hoped it would be a good summary of up-to-date points of view on the Greek myths, but it turns out to be no such thing; despite its deceptively updated cover, it was first published in 1962. It sorely feels the lack of half a century of archaeological and historical research, and of theoretical and literary perspectives.

This is a pity, because the conception of the book, as a way of organizing the vastness of its material, is a good one: choose a number of ancient literary sources, summarize a myth or myth-cycle taken from each one, and discuss the history, background, alternate versions, and continuing literary legacy of that myth. Grant finds opportunities at various points in these discussions to introduce the layperson to an array of the theories that had been applied to myth by the mid-twentieth century: the etiological, the ethnological, the psychoanalytic, the search for traces of history, various poetic theories, and so forth. (Incidentally, the book entirely omits footnotes for the scholars and works mentioned, and most of them are not even in the bibliography; though I realize that this is a conscious decision to avoid intimidating lay readers, I think it's a poor one.) Grant's eminently sensible insistence that "no single theory, however valuably suggestive, will suffice to explain the whole range of Greek and Roman mythology, or even a major proportion of its content" leads to some good passages, such as the section of the chapter on Demeter where his discussion of the relation between ritual and myth presents arguments for the primacy of the one and the other and points out that it's not necessary to choose between them. I also appreciated his discussions of tragedy, particularly Prometheus Bound and Oedipus.

Nonetheless, in a number of chapters, he doesn't quite succeed in subsuming the work of other scholars into a well-constructed, comprehensible organization. Furthermore, Grant's summaries of literary works are written with mediocre style themselves, and his work is full of a certain mid-century stodginess; his praises of the universal qualities of the myths come from a cultural perspective just different enough from mine to make it obvious that he's mistaken in what he thinks is universal. Perhaps no suitable replacement for this good, but far from perfect, book has yet been written; but I hope it has.

[M.G. Bianco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this book as part of my ongoing study of Greek and Roman mythology.

Michael Grant retells the myths (both small and great, Greek and Roman) and then provides commentary on how culture and literature influenced their writing, as well as how they influenced the culture and literature that followed them. He does not shy away from eastern influences, nor Biblical influences. And he covers ancient influences, as well as modern art that has been influenced. Further, he discusses these influences as they have occurred in both written and pictorial form.

It was slightly academic at times, which was only problematic because I am ill-informed and ignorant of his subject. Overall, I enjoyed the read.

[Old-Barbarossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative primer/reminder of the main classical myths and themes.
Most of the big tales are here and each is covered in 3 or more parts: outline of the tale; background; influences and imitations etc.
Dry at times but on the whole a good start to my re-immersion in the classics.

[Jerry-Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great reveiw of all the myths that I dimly remember such as Orpheus, Jason, etc.

[H Wesselius · Rating 5 out of 5]

read it in Santorini on the beach -- increased my appreciation of ancinet Greece

[Serge Pierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that covers the Greek and Roman myths in both text and photographs. The photographs include coinage, statues, paintings etc. A good overview.