The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology

by Osborn, Kevin; Burgess, Dana

• ISBN13: 9780028623856
• ISBN10: 0028623851
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-07-01
• Publisher: Alpha Books

Summary

You're no idiot, of course. You can find Greece on a map, know that Kevin Sorbo stars as Hercules on TV, and have heard of Freud's Oedipus theory. But when it comes to classical mythology, you feel like you've been foiled by the gods. Don't curse Zeus yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology has all you need for a working knowledge of the timeless world of Greek and Roman myths. In this complete Idiot's Guide, you get:

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Beginning of All Things	1	(52)
1 Tell Me a Story What a myth is, the functions myths play in a particular culture, and the sources of our knowledge about the mythology of ancient Greece and Rome	3	(10)
2 O Brave New World How the world was created, how men were created, and how and why women were created	13	(12)
3 Hey, I've Heard that Before! The Roots of Classical Myth Earlier myths from other cultures that may have influenced classical mythology-including the Babylonian genesis and the story of the first hero, Gilgamesh	25	(14)
4 Author, Author The ancient poets, playwrights, and other writers whose works have informed us about classical mythology	39	(14)
Part 2: Welcome to the Pantheon: The Greek Gods	53	(62)
5 Tales of the Titanic The birth of the first immortals, the ascent and brief reign of the Titans, and their fall to the Olympians	55	(10)
6 The Reign of Thunder and Lightning: Olympus Under Zeus The six original Olympians, all children of the Titans Cronus and Rhea: Zeus and Hera (and their stormy marriage), their brothers Poseidon and Hades, and their sisters Hestia and Demeter	65	(14)
7 The A Team: Olympians All The seven other major players on Mount Olympus: the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, and Artemis, and the gods Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo, and Hermes	79	(14)
8 Friends, Fairies, and Fairy Tale Monsters The "lesser" gods and goddesses, satyrs, and nymphs, and the battles between the Olympians and both the Giants and the terrifying monster Typhon	93	(10)
9 Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: Dionysus The frenzied and ecstatic rites of the god of wine and his followers-as well as his persecution and ultimate ascent to Olympus	103	(12)
Part 3: Everyone Needs a Hero	115	(128)
10 The Model Hero: Perseus The hero who slew Medusa, rescued his wife from a sea monster, and saved his mother from a human monster	117	(10)
11 What the Hell? Adventures in the Underworld How Hades found a wife, how Orpheus pursued his wife even after death, and the eternal tortures of the damned	127	(12)
12 Even the Wisest Cannot See: Oedipus the King The blindness that caused a visionary hero to kill his father and marry his mother	139	(12)
13 The Labors of Heracles The greatest of classical heroes: his persecution by his stepmother Hera and his many thrilling adventures	151	(16)
14 Crimes of Passion: Jason, Medea, and the Argonauts The fabled quest for the Golden Fleece, Medea's crimes on Jason's behalf-and her revenge after he dumped her	167	(14)
15 Lucky in War, Unlucky in Love: Theseus The hero who defeated the Minotaur and escaped the Labyrinth-and his unfortunate choice of women	181	(12)
16 All's Not Fair in Love and War: The Fall of Troy How a crasher at a wedding party sparked a rivalry among goddesses, the abduction of Helen, and the greatest conflict in classical mythology: the Trojan War	193	(14)
17 Achilles: The Angry Young Hero The greatest of Greek war heroes: his birth, his near invincibility in combat, his withdrawal from and return to the Trojan War, and his ultimate death on the battlefield	207	(10)
18 Take the Long Way Home: Odysseus Why it took Odysseus 20 years to return to his faithful wife Penelope-and his many adventures along the way	217	(14)
19 Not in Our Stars: Tragic Heroes and Their Fates Tales that illustrate the pain of unrequited love, the treachery of in-laws, the perils of distrusting your mate, the virtue of listening to your parents, and reasons why you should never, ever lend your child the keys to the family chariot	231	(12)
Part 4: Friends, Romans, Countrymen	243	(24)
20 All Roads Lead to Rome: The Odyssey of Aeneas How Aeneas escaped the sack of Troy and undertook his own odyssey to found the Roman race	245	(12)
21 Rome Wasn't Built in a Day How Romulus and Remus battled over the founding of Rome, legends of the city's early kings, and how a rape led to the founding of a republic	257	(10)
Part 5: The Immortals Still Live	267	(58)
22 Poetic License: Allusions to Myth in English Literature From the Renaissance through the Romanticists, how poets called on the gods of Olympus	269	(18)
23 Celluloid Heroes (and Gods): Mythic Movies How Hollywood has all but ignored classical mythology-except for Hercules, who became king of the B movies	287	(12)
24 Tooned in to Hercules: The Classical Myths on TV and in Cartoons The TV adventures of Hercules-and more heroic efforts to translate classical myths to the small screen or animated movies	299	(12)
25 Legitimation and Glorification: Classical Images in Painting and Sculpture The most common artistic uses of classical images: endowing nude figures with respectability and justifying the status quo	311	(14)
A Glossary of Terms	325	(4)
B Who's Who in Classical Mythology	329	(50)
C What's in a Name? Greek and Roman Gods and Heroes	379	(2)
D Read More About It	381	(2)
Index	383