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Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Vol. 1

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

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Selected by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title

Early Greek Myth is a much-needed handbook for scholars and others interested in the literary and artistic sources of archaic Greek myths—and the only one of its kind available in English. Timothy Gantz traces the development of each myth in narrative form and summarizes the written and visual evidence in which the specific details of the story appear.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

A compendium of narrative variants useful for anyone wanting seriously to analyze a Greek myth.
Times Literary Supplement

Nothing short of remarkable . . . This book will certainly become a staple of all classical libraries for years to come.
Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Its accessible format, straightforward readability, and economical price should put it where it belongs, on the shelf of anyone who teaches mythology, at whatever level.
Classical Outlook

There has long been a need for a comprehensive treatment―accessible in
English―of the principal myths that one encounters while reading the major Greek texts. Early Greek Myth goes a long way to filling the gap.
―Mary R. Lefkowitz, Wellesley College

Review

There has long been a need for a comprehensive treatment―accessible in English―of the principal myths that one encounters while reading the major Greek texts. Early Greek Myth goes a long way to filling the gap.

-- Mary R. Lefkowitz

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Johns Hopkins University Press (January 1, 1996)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 584 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0801853605
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0801853609
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.95 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.32 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

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Timothy Gantz
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2024
    This is a very old review (February 2004), which I may revise. I thought it was posted here, but appears only with Volume 2, so I am hoping Amazon accepts these are two different items and I can review both.

    Anyone who expects this book (in either the one-volume hardcover original, or the slightly-revised two-volume paperback) to be a complete account of Greek Myths, with or without their Roman adaptations, has missed the "Early" and the "Guide to ... Sources" in the title.

    It is not a substitute for H.J. Rose's old "A Handbook of Greek Mythology, Including Its Extension to Rome," or Kerenyi's "Gods of the Greeks" and "Heroes of the Greeks," or Tripp's dictionary-style "Handbook of Classical Mythology," or Robert Graves' well-known, but eccentric, and not always reliable, "The Greek Myths." If you *need* comprehensive accounts, including at least some Roman stories, Rose and Tripp are excellent; Kerenyi concentrates on Greek subjects, and draws as exclusively as he can on Greek sources.

    "Early Greek Myth" is a very detailed analysis of the evidence for stories of gods and heroes which are attested in *early* sources -- Aeschylus and the early Sophocles are Gantz's preferred demarcation. Unfortunately, as everyone who has looked into the matter is only too aware, most of the best evidence is missing, and the scholar is forced to turn to later -- sometimes much later -- summaries, quotations, and retellings which claim to be based on such early sources. A good deal of time-specific information comes from art, which often is archeologically and stylistically datable (the well-studied sequence of Athenian painted vases is constantly cited), but not always reliable as a direct reflection of a lost poem or play.

    Gantz is meticulous, and presents an extremely balanced view of controversies, although he obviously favors some solutions to problems of interpretation. I have been reading Greek myths, and about them, for decades, and his accomplishment dazzles me. It is not easy reading, and sometimes slow going -- particularly if you stop to find in other books the pictures described this un-illustrated volume. (Of course, an illustrated version would be priced out of sight -- but it doesn't help that the references for art objects give only their "official" or "standard" publications, likely to be found in major libraries, but not on an ordinary reader's shelf.)

    Among the available illustrated narrative accounts of Greek myths, Kerenyi's sparse but reliable treatments include some of the famous or intriguing vase paintings Gantz cites. Those two volumes (not Kerenyi's analytical and interpretive studies) might be the best companion for a reader baffled by Gantz's allusions to famous stories and obscure sources. Those intrigued by the problems posed by the artistic treatments will probably want to look at Thomas H. Carpenter's "Art and Myth in Ancient Greece: A Handbook" (1991), richly illustrated and probably not too technical to follow, before going on to, say, John Boardman's splendid popular volumes on ancient Greek art forms, in which mythology is of lesser concern.

    Many of the best-known stories are absent from Gantz, or mentioned only in passing, for the simple reason that there is no early evidence for them. Some actually appear only in Roman times, sometimes exclusively in Latin, as do some of the best-known versions of stories once told in very different terms. In fact, there may be a place for similar modern studies of *Late* Greek Myths, and of Greek myths in Latin sources. [Note: Alan Cameron's "Greek Mythography in the Roman World" (American Classical Studies, No. 48), published in 2004, looked like it might fill the gap, but apparently analyzes specific texts in great detail.] But what Gantz has provided here is remarkable enough.

    (Addendum; Professor Timothy Nolan Gantz passed away on January 20, 2004; a charming obituary appeared in The Georgia Classicist, Vol. XXV, No. I, which can be found on-line.)

    [Further Addendum, February 2015: H.J. Rose's venerable "Handbook of Greek Mythology" has been revised and expanded by Robin Hard, in an edition published in 2003. A further revision is scheduled for release in hardcover in March 2015 (at what seems to me an unreasonably high price for a work addressed largely to students; presumably a future paperback edition will be less prohibitively expensive).]
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2015
    Gantz' *Early Greek Myth* is the standard for academics looking for a diachronic account of Greek myths. Warning, though, this is not for the average lay who is looking for a fun and digestible form of Greek myths. This is a reference guide, and it is nearly complete. The only thing I wish Gantz did, which might have been too large of an undertaking, was to elucidate and clarify Mycenaean sources. But still, even without it, it is an essential wealth of information.

    This is vol. 1 of 2, so make sure to get vol. 2, too.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2013
    more than useful. Important, authoritative source for writers and scholars. It fills a niche in the sources I have, and then some! Bill Tudor
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2014
    good reference in addition to Theoi. com
    if you are into graduate level religious studies
    Aquarian Age religious studies encompass the globe
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2003
    Anyone who seriously engages Greek myth in all its variants on a scholarly level needs to have this book. This is not a book to read through for entertainment. It's a reference work, and a very good one at that. If you need precise, reliable accurate acounts of a myth and its development over time, this book is for you. If you're looking for an entertaining read, look elsewhere. Not that the book is poorly written. It isn't. But it's really a sort of discursive catalog of evidence for scholars, not a book to curl up with in front of the fireplace.
    The book comprehensively catalogs the primary sources for the major mythic traditions of Greece. It is particularly useful because it avoids making assumptions on what the myths were like in the early period. Inexperienced students of Greek myths tend to view them through the more elaborated narratives of later authors like the tragedians, Ovid, or Apollodorus. The result is that they often make erroneous assumptions about what a given mythic narrative actually contained in earlier periods. This book goes through myths element by element and indicates what is attested from the earliest sources. It is particularly valuable because it emphasizes iconographic data as well as literary evidence. If you dip into this book , you will often be surprised to find that canonical versions of myths often bear little resemblance to the earliest attestations.
    Aside from the <I>Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae</I>, this may be the most important work on Greek Myth in decades. Oh, and you really need to buy both volume 1 and volume 2.
    24 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2014
    Excellent source book. I haven't read far enough into it to gauge the quality of analysis.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2010
    This is certainly an exhaustive, scholarly text, and it would be a very valuable resource for graduate students and professors. For someone with a more casual interest in Greek mythology, however, it's just about unreadable. Try Hamilton, Bulfinch, or Morford, instead.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Salvatore
    5.0 out of 5 stars Accurato e arguto.
    Reviewed in Italy on November 18, 2017
    Senz'altro uno dei migliori saggi sull'argomento. Agile nonostante la mole. Indispensabile per gli interessati all'argomento. Gantz è riuscito a condensare in un tomo una serie impressionante di miti, dipanandone con chiarezza la complessa ramificazione.
  • Dee
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2015
    Very helpful for a Classical Studies student!
  • Amazon EX-Customer
    1.0 out of 5 stars Unreadable
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2014
    Just received this book from Amazon a few minutes ago, opened it and attempted to read in. The typeface is so small I had to give up after a couple of paragraphs. The content may be very valuable, but I shall never know. I certainly will not be wasting my money on volume two.

    The book is now in the dustbin.

    DON'T buy if you're over thirty-five.