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A Companion to World Mythology - Illustrated
Alphabetically lists the gods of such diverse cultures as Polynesia, Japan, and ancient Greece, with substantial accounts of their exploits.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 1979
About the author
Richard Barber
165 books32 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Richard William Barber is a prominent British historian who has been writing and publishing in the field of medieval history and literature ever since his student days. He has specialised in the Arthurian legend, beginning with a general survey, Arthur of Albion, in 1961, which is still in print in a revised edition. His other major interest is historical biography; he has published on Henry Plantagenet (1964) and among his other books is the standard biography of Edward the Black Prince, Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine. The interplay between history and literature was the theme of The Knight and Chivalry, for which he won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1971 and he returned to this in The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief (2004); this was widely praised in the UK press, and had major reviews in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
His other career has been as a publisher. In 1969 he helped to found The Boydell Press, which later became Boydell & Brewer Ltd, one of the leading publishers in medieval studies, and he is currently group managing director. In 1989, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, in association with the University of Rochester, started the University of Rochester Press in upstate New York. The group currently publishes over 200 titles a year.
Richard William Barber is a prominent British historian who has been writing and publishing in the field of medieval history and literature ever since his student days. He has specialised in the Arthurian legend, beginning with a general survey, Arthur of Albion, in 1961, which is still in print in a revised edition. His other major interest is historical biography; he has published on Henry Plantagenet (1964) and among his other books is the standard biography of Edward the Black Prince, Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine. The interplay between history and literature was the theme of The Knight and Chivalry, for which he won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1971 and he returned to this in The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief (2004); this was widely praised in the UK press, and had major reviews in The New York Times and The Washington Post.
His other career has been as a publisher. In 1969 he helped to found The Boydell Press, which later became Boydell & Brewer Ltd, one of the leading publishers in medieval studies, and he is currently group managing director. In 1989, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, in association with the University of Rochester, started the University of Rochester Press in upstate New York. The group currently publishes over 200 titles a year.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 18, 2019
I'm going to give this four stars for the sole person that the mythology is separated in alphabetical order by the name of Gods or monsters. This means that, rather than having the mythology separated by culture so that you can find out more about how the gods and characters interact with each other, you have to first know the names of the mythological figures to read a short paragraph about them.
These short paragraphs are fairly insightful despite being less than 300-400 words, but would have most likely led to a far larger book if their true origins and stories were told in vast detail.
For each mention of a God, there is a picture to the side of the name to help show what the gods would have looked like. The pictures aren't random, in fact, they're references to the earliest found artifacts depicting their Gods in their truest form, and it is definitely enlightening.
This is definitely a reference book you should have in a personal library!
These short paragraphs are fairly insightful despite being less than 300-400 words, but would have most likely led to a far larger book if their true origins and stories were told in vast detail.
For each mention of a God, there is a picture to the side of the name to help show what the gods would have looked like. The pictures aren't random, in fact, they're references to the earliest found artifacts depicting their Gods in their truest form, and it is definitely enlightening.
This is definitely a reference book you should have in a personal library!
December 29, 2009
I found this book to be fascinating. It has been out of print for some time but I found a discarded library copy. I first became interested in this book because of the illustrations. Pauline Baynes does a fantastic job of interpreting the various gods, demigods, heroes, monsters, and beasts of the world.
April 25, 2016
This is one of those books you can open up at any point, choose an entry, and start reading. It features great illustrations to boot.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews