The Penguin Book of Classical Myths, by Jenny March

July 2009, Penguin

590 pages

Review Copy

Ease of Reading: 5/5

Level of Information: 5/5
Paperclips: 2/5

Overall rating: 5+/5

This is one of those books I wish I'd had when I was a student. My degree was in Ancient History, which is why I snapped this book up the moment I saw it. Admittedly, I only studied a few classes on myth, but, being the foundation which the ancient world based its life and customs around, myth is (and should be) an integral part of any scholar, be they someone dabbling into Greek and Roman world for a school project, as a general interest topic, or because it is a part of their studies.

Unlike some of the books I've read on myths, Jenny doesn't fill the pages up with endless passages of original, or translated text. The translations are her own, and they are put in when appropriate. This book isn't an in-depth analysis of the texts: it is more a chronological compendium of the detailed, and sometimes confusing world of Greek (and Roman) gods and heroes.

First up: illustrations! Quite different from the illustrations I usually review, but well placed. Aside from the necessary maps of the ancient world, there are two star-charts! The northern and southern hemisphere's constellations are depicted in clear illustrations, not in a simple join the dots image, but a full picture of the constellation followed with dots of where the stars are on them. So Leo, the lion, is a lion! I confess to spending several minutes over these two pages. I liked the pictures! Other illustrations are in black and white, with a colour section in the book's centre. I've seen a fair number of these in my course, but they represent a broad spectrum of mythic art in the ancient world.

On to the content: I sat down, and I read this. From cover to cover. That can be rare in a text book, to read it in more or less one sitting without scratching my head thinking 'huh?' Jenny's style of writing is far from dull, she explores one portion of text, includes any variations of the story (which are usually a few) then moves on to the next section which has a logical progression of topic.

Topics covered in this book, by chapter, along with a comment from me.

• Creation: self-explanatory. Learn who, not what, dreams are. You wouldn't want to mess with the Furies!
  
• Gods: most captivating story goes to Persephone. Poor girl, doomed to spend a few months of the year in the underworld.
  
• The First Humans: so that's how the gold/silver/iron age came about! (the Greek version) Also included: Pandora's box-which-was-never-a-real-box.
  
• The Quest for the Golden Fleece: the events leading up to Jason's untimely death by a fallen beam of wood - yes, I laughed.
• Io and Argus: a maiden who sadly had a run in with the god Zeus.
  
• Heroes and monsters: death to snakes! Or at least to Medusa, who had a whole head of them.
• Herakles: also known as Hercules. Completely disillusioned my image of him founded on the cartoon versions. The truth of his deeds, warts and all.
  
• Theseus, Athens and Crete: two highly significant places in the Greek world. Move over Herakles, Theseus is the new hero in town.
• The Theban Saga: yet another significant place, including a mortal and immortal relationship whose love survives (although Kadmos and Harmonia endured many tragedies).
  
• The Trojan War: that wooden horse, and the woman everyone went to war over.
  
• Odyssius and His Odyssey: I read the story involving the cyclops' sheep in a simplified version for Greek language.
  
• The House of Pelops: return of the Furies (they are involved in this tale).
  
• Dangerous Women: Amazons (nothing to do with South America) are fantastic archers.
  
• Aeneas and the Destiny of Rome: Yup, a Roman chapter. This isn't just about Greece :)
• The Foundation of Rome: including the famous twins, Romulus and Remus
  
• Metamorphoses: I'm not talking catapiller to butterfly here - humans changing shapes due to gods.
  
• Myths of Love and Death: Cupid's love involves a real box (unlike Pandora's).
  

I also had a suspicion confirmed with this book: video games, anime and manga base some creatures on those found in ancient myths. Who says history isn't relevant to our modern lives!

If I had any say on a course syllabus, I'd put this as preliminary reading. It's reminded me exactly how much I love the ancient world. Go buy a copy and absorb the rich, Grecian (and Roman) culture!

Content: two paperclips: due to the nature of life and views on relationships in the ancient world, some of the pictures and certainly a fair few of the stories deal in areas which may bring about blushes for some of my readers.

Excellent edition to the non-fiction pile on my floor (floor in no way denotes my opinion of a book).