The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology, 2nd Edition

by Osborn, Kevin; Burgess, Dana L.

• ISBN13: 9781592572892
• ISBN10: 1592572898
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-02
• Publisher: Alpha

Summary

Fiction and non-fiction literature, movies, television, and even advertising are not only full of mythological references, they're often based on classical myths. Classical mythology endures not just because it is such an integral part of our history, literature, and culture, but because myths tell us who we are - as Bill Moyers says, ' . . .what human beings have in common is revealed in myths.' In the second edition of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Mythology, readers will find: bull; Complete explanations of Greek and Roman mythological stories bull; A complete listing of all mythological characters with descriptions. bull; Mythological creatures borrowed from Greek mythology by J.K. Rowling for her Harry Potter series bull; Background on the mythology used in recent television series and movies, such as O Brother, Where Art Thou

Author Biography

Kevin Osborn is the author of more than three dozen books, including two Complete Idiot-'s Guides.

Dana L. Burgess, Ph.D., is a tenured associate professor of foreign languages and literatures, and classics, at Whitman College. He received both his Ph.D. in Greek and M.A. in Latin from Bryn Mawr College.

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Beginning of All Things	1	(54)
1 Tell Me a Story	3	(10)
Stories That Mean Something	4	(5)
Why Does the Rain Fall from Up Above? (Why Do Fools Fall in Love?)	5	(2)
Which Came First: The Chicken or the Egg?	7	(1)
The Sacred and the Profane (and the Heroic)	8	(1)
The Tellers and Their Tales	9	(4)
The Big Eight	9	(2)
A Dash of Heroism, a Handful of Fate	11	(1)
Myths? What Myths?	12	(1)
2 O Brave New World	13	(12)
The Big Bang Theory: Creation Through Procreation	14	(3)
What a Mess!	14	(1)
A Garden of Earthly Delights	15	(1)
All You Need Is Love	15	(2)
Mama Laid an Egg	17	(1)
A Work in Progress: The Ages of Man	18	(2)
Golden Years	18	(1)
Hi-Ho Silver	19	(1)
Coming in Third: The Bronze Medal	20	(1)
Hard as Nails: The Iron Man	20	(1)
Quest for Fire	20	(5)
Where's the Beef?	21	(1)
Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice? Not Quite!	22	(3)
3 Hey, I've Heard That Before! The Roots of Classical Myth	25	(14)
In the Beginning	26	(1)
Meet the New Boss	27	(3)
Quiet Up There!	27	(1)
Clash of the Titans	27	(2)
Recipe for Creation: Take One Divine Body, Break It in Two	29	(1)
Hey, That Sounds Familiar!	30	(1)
I Need a Hero: Gilgamesh	30	(6)
Gods' Gift	31	(1)
Going. for the Gusto	32	(1)
The Goddess of (Unrequited) Love: Ishtar	32	(1)
The Secret of Life	33	(2)
A Hero in the Classical Mold	35	(1)
The Mother of All Goddesses	36	(2)
A Goddess by Any Other Name	36	(1)
A Hell of a journey	37	(1)
There's No DNA Test for the Paternity of Mythologies	38	(1)
4 Author, Author	39	(16)
Do Tell	40	(1)
The Poet as Performance Artist	40	(3)
Homer, Sweet Homer	41	(1)
Never Refuse a Muse: Hesiod	42	(1)
The Play's the Thing	43	(5)
Chorus Lines	43	(2)
The Dramatist as War Hero: Aeschylus	45	(1)
The Dramatist as Civic Leader: Sophocles	46	(1)
The Dramatist as Realist: Euripides	47	(1)
All Greeks to Me	48	(2)
Poetic License	48	(1)
The Myths of History, Biography, and Geography	49	(1)
The Grandeur That Was Rome	50	(7)
The Poet as Propagandist: Uergil	51	(1)
The Poet as Storyteller: Ovid	52	(1)
When in Rome	52	(3)
Part 2: Welcome to the Pantheon: The Greek Gods	55	(66)
5 Tales of the Titanic	57	(10)
Raise the Titanic!	57	(4)
Too Many Hands, Not Enough Eyes	58	(1)
Not-So-Fatherly Love	58	(1)
No Womb to Move	59	(1)
Mother's Little Helper	60	(1)
A Titanic Struggle	61	(2)
The New Generation	61	(1)
A Tale That's Hard to Swallow	61	(2)
'Scuse Me, I Burped	63	(1)
Clash of the Titans	63	(4)
Three Hundred Helping Hands	63	(1)
To Hell with the Titans	64	(3)
6 The Reign of Thunder and Lightning: Olympus Under Zeus	67	(14)
Master of the Universe	68	(4)
King of Gods, God of Kings	68	(2)
Trouble in Paradise	70	(1)
The First Sex Addict?	70	(2)
A Heavenly Marriage? Hera and Zeus	72	(3)
Cuckoo for Love	72	(1)
Hades Hath No Fury Like a Goddess Scorned	73	(2)
Surf and Turf: The Brothers of Zeus	75	(3)
Turf Wars	75	(1)
Beastly Couplings, Beastly Children	75	(2)
The Prince of Darkness	77	(1)
Home and Harvest: The Sisters of Hera	78	(3)
Home Is Where the Hearth Is	78	(1)
Earth Angel	79	(2)
7 The A Team: Olympians All	81	(16)
First in War, First in Peace: Athena	82	(2)
A Surefire Cure for a Migraine: Athena's Birth	82	(1)
Liar ! What Is It Good For?	83	(1)
A Not-So-Immaculate Conception	83	(1)
Three's a Crowd: The Olympian Love Triangle	84	(5)
The Heavenly Castoff: Hephaestus	84	(2)
Fear and Loathing on Mount Olympus: Ares	86	(1)
First of the Red-Hot Lovers: Aphrodite	86	(1)
A Fine Romance?	87	(1)
Love Child	88	(1)
Night of the Hunters: Artemis and Apollo	89	(5)
Wild Queendom: Artemis	90	(2)
The Temperamental Musician: Apollo	92	(2)
The Little Rascal: Hermes	94	(3)
8 Friends, Fairies, and Fairy Tale Monsters	97	(12)
Children of Lesser Gods	98	(6)
Here Comes the Sun King	98	(1)
From Dusk to Dawn: The Sisters of Helios	99	(1)
Dark Goddesses: Hecate and Styx	100	(2)
The Good-Time God: Pan	102	(1)
Hemi-Demi-Semi-Deities	103	(1)
The Fairy Tale World: Giants, Ogres, and Monsters	104	(5)
Big Trouble on Olympus: The War with the Giants	104	(2)
The Mother of All Monsters!	106	(3)
9 Eat, Drink, and Be Merry: Dionysus	109	(12)
Turning Water Into Wine: How Dionysus Came to Be	110	(2)
Be Careful What You Wish For	110	(1)
Kids Will Be Kids-Literally	111	(1)
Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll: Dionysus on Tour	112	(5)
The Original Flower Child	113	(1)
The Star and His Groupies	113	(1)
Don't Make Him Mad	114	(1)
Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Wine!	115	(1)
Homecoming Queen: Pentheus of Thebes	116	(1)
Madness Is the Best Revenge	117	(1)
The Kindness of Strangers	117	(6)
Swing Time	118	(1)
All That's Gold Does Not Glitter	119	(1)
Mama's Boy	119	(2)
Part 3: Everyone Needs a Hero	121	(128)
10 The Model Hero: Perseus	123	(10)
Against All Odds: Perseus's Conception, Birth, and Youth	124	(2)
The Golden Shower	124	(1)
A Fine Kettle of Fish	125	(1)
Something Fishy Going On	125	(1)
A Face Only a Mother Could Love	126	(2)
A Little Help from My Friends	126	(1)
The Gray Women: Their Sisters' Keepers	127	(1)
Medusa Loses Her Head	128	(1)
Homeward Bound	128	(3)
The Mountain Man: Atlas	129	(1)
A Damsel in Distress: The Rescue of Andremeda	129	(1)
The Marrying Kind	130	(1)
A Family Reunion	131	(2)
11 What the Hell? Adventures in the Underworld	133	(12)
Hades Takes a Wife: Persephone	134	(3)
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?	134	(1)
The Long Winter of Her Discontent	134	(1)
The Renewal of Spring	135	(1)
Queen of the Underworld	136	(1)
The Cunning Rogue: Sisyphus	137	(3)
All in the Family	137	(1)
No Honor Among Thieves	138	(1)
Cheating Death	138	(2)
The Not-So-Heavenly Host: Tantalus	140	(2)
Undying Love: Orpheus	142	(3)
Following Love to Hell and Back	142	(1)
Life After Death	143	(2)
12 Even the Wisest Cannot See: Oedipus the King	145	(12)
A House Divided: Oedipus's Ancestors	146	(3)
Watch Where You're Looking: The Heirs of Cadmus	147	(1)
The Sins of the Father	148	(1)
Exile and Triumphant Return	149	(3)
Abandonment and Adoption	149	(1)
At the Crossroads	150	(1)
Riddle Me This	151	(1)
Hail the Conquering Hero	152	(1)
The Blind Leading the Blind	152	(2)
A Tainted Legacy: The Curse of Oedipus	154	(3)
The Curse Becomes a Blessing	154	(1)
The Sins of the Father Part II	155	(2)
13 The Labors of Heracles	157	(16)
The Wonder Years: The Birth and Youth of Heracles	158	(4)
The Labors of Alcmene	158	(1)
Training a Hero	159	(2)
Marriage, Madness, and Murder	161	(1)
The Labors of Heracles	162	(7)
Beastly Chores: The First Four Labors	162	(2)
Even More Beastly Chores: The Second Four Labors	164	(2)
The Far Corners of the Earth: The Final Four Labors	166	(3)
Love and Death	169	(4)
Lydia, Oh Lydia, Oh Have You Seen Lydia?	169	(1)
Vengeance Is Mine	170	(1)
Fatal Attraction: Deianira	170	(3)
14 Crimes of Passion: Jason, Medea, and the Argonauts	173	(14)
Assembling the Argonauts	174	(3)
The Other Shoe Drops: The Return of Jason	174	(1)
Golden Fleece? What Golden Fleece?	175	(1)
Help Wanted	176	(1)
In Search of Adventure	177	(5)
The Island of Women	177	(1)
Surprise Attacks	178	(1)
Winged Avengers and Clashing Rocks	179	(1)
Witch Way to the Golden Fleece	180	(2)
Crime and Punishment: The Long Way Home	182	(3)
Am I My Brother's Keeper?	182	(1)
Dangerous Waters	183	(1)
Dry-Docked	183	(1)
No Place Like Home?	184	(1)
A Woman Scorned	185	(2)
Beware of Colchians Bearing Gifts	185	(1)
The Aftermath of Tragedy	186	(1)
15 Lucky in War, Unlucky in Love: Theseus	187	(12)
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?	188	(1)
Road Warrior	189	(2)
Batter Up	189	(1)
Up a Tree	189	(1)
Look Out Below	190	(1)
Wanna Wrestle?	190	(1)
The Perfect Fit?	191	(1)
A Lot of Bull	191	(3)
Maternal Instinct Gone Wild	191	(1)
Birth of a Beast: The Minotaur	192	(1)
No Way Out: The Maze and the Minotaur	193	(1)
Loss and/or Abandonment	194	(1)
King Theseus Wants a Wife	194	(5)
Attack of the Amazons: Antiope	195	(1)
Forbidden Love: Phaedra	195	(1)
Midlife Crisis: The Abduction of Helen	196	(3)
16 All's Not Fair in Love and War: The Fall of Troy	199	(14)
One Bad Apple Does Spoil the Bunch	200	(1)
Who's the Fairest of Them All?	200	(1)
But She's Already Married!	200	(1)
The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships	201	(5)
Which Way to Troy?	202	(1)
The Long Siege of Troy Begins	202	(1)
Heroes of the Battlefield	203	(3)
The Final Battles: The Tenth Year of the War	206	(3)
The End of Achilles	206	(1)
A Recipe for Winning the War	207	(1)
Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts!	208	(1)
The Agony of Defeat	209	(1)
The End of Heroes	209	(4)
Welcome Home?	210	(1)
The House of Blood: Agamemnon's Return	211	(2)
17 Achilles: The Angry Young Nero	213	(10)
How to Create an (Almost) Invulnerable Hero	214	(4)
A Lover, Not a Fighter: His Father Peleus	214	(1)
A Marriage Made in Heaven	215	(1)
Don't Try This at Home!	216	(1)
Hey, This Kid's Got Potential!	217	(1)
Draft Dodging? Try Dressing in Drag	218	(1)
To War!	218	(3)
A Curious Cure	219	(1)
First Blood: The Early Battles	219	(1)
Never Insult Your Greatest Warrior	220	(1)
The Final Battles	221	(2)
I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight	221	(1)
Love Among the Ruins	222	(1)
18 Take the Long Way Home: Odysseus	223	(14)
Is This the Stuff Heroes Are Made Of?	224	(2)
Choosing Wisely	224	(1)
Draft Dodging? Try Feigning Insanity	225	(1)
Going Home So Soon? Not Bloody Likely	226	(2)
What Are We Doing Here?	226	(1)
My, What a Big Eye You Have!	227	(1)
The Poseidon Adventures	228	(5)
Good Host, Bad Host	228	(1)
Pigging Out	229	(1)
A Ghost of a Chance	230	(1)
Eeek! Sea Monsters!	231	(1)
Don't Have a Cow	231	(1)
The Hard Life of a Love Slave	232	(1)
Hi, Honey, I'm Home!	233	(4)
Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated	233	(2)
No Contest	235	(2)
19 Not in Our Stars: Tragic Heroes and Their fates	237	(12)
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not	238	(2)
No Voice of Her Own	238	(1)
My Eyes Adored You	238	(1)
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall	239	(1)
Switchblade Sisters	240	(2)
Sister Act	240	(1)
Dinner and Vengeance-Is Served	241	(1)
Mutual Mistrust: The High Cost of Jealousy	242	(2)
A Test of Fidelity	242	(1)
The Spy Who Loved Him	243	(1)
The Limits of Craftsmanship	244	(2)
Towering Ambition	244	(1)
Fly Like an Eagle, Drop Like a Stone	245	(1)
The Shell Game	245	(1)
Dad, Can I Borrow Your Car?	246	(5)
Son of the Sun	246	(1)
Hold Your Horses	247	(2)
Part 4: Friends, Romans, Countrymen	249	(42)
20 When in Rome, Worship as the Romans Worship	251	(8)
A Practical Guide to Roman Mythology	252	(5)
Greek Immigrants: The Gods of Olympus Arrive in Rome	252	(1)
Pick a God, Any God	253	(1)
Gods in the Balance	254	(1)
Say a Little Prayer for Me	254	(1)
The Rituals of Everyday Life	255	(2)
Every Home a Temple	257	(2)
Bless This House: The Lares	257	(1)
What's in the Pantry? The Penates	257	(1)
Spirits Everywhere	258	(1)
21 Meet the New Boss(es), Same as the Old Boss(es): The Gods and Goddesses of Rome	259	(14)
The Magnificent Seven	260	(6)
The Great Civilizer: Saturn	260	(1)
By Jove, It's Jupiter!	261	(1)
Marrying Money: The Goddess Juno	262	(1)
Like a Virgin: Vesta	262	(1)
Eyes in the Back of His Head: Janus	263	(1)
War and Peace: Mars	264	(1)
Love Makes the World Go Around: Venus	265	(1)
Ye Gods! Lesser Deities of the Romans	266	(7)
New to the Neighborhood: The Other Olympians	266	(2)
Greeks in Togas: The Lesser Deities Go Roman	268	(2)
Everything Old Becomes New Again: The Ancient Italian Deities	270	(2)
Bit Players: Minor Italian Deities	272	(1)
22 All Roads Lead to Rome: The Odyssey of Aeneas	273	(12)
A Born Hero	274	(2)
The Son Also Rises	274	(1)
The Good Soldier	275	(1)
The Bitter End	276	(1)
A Man Without a Country	276	(4)
Are You My Mother(land)?	277	(1)
Islands in the Storm	277	(1)
Juno Acts as Matchmaker	278	(2)
Veni, Vidi, Vici	280	(5)
Passport to the Underworld	280	(1)
Arrival of a Rival	281	(1)
This Means War	282	(1)
Friends, Romans, Countrymen	283	(2)
23 Rome Wasn't Built in a Day	285	(6)
Double Visionaries: Romulus and Remus	285	(4)
Dancing with Wolves	286	(1)
The Lost Generation Returns	287	(1)
Sibling Rivalry Is for the Birds	288	(1)
If You Can't Come to Rome, Rome Will Come to You	289	(2)
Personals: SM Seeks SF x 100	289	(2)
Imperialist Rome	291	(1)
Rome Rules!	291
Long Live the Kings	292	(1)
I just Can't Wait to Be King	293	(2)
Et Tu, Junius Brutus?	295
Appendixes
A Glossary of Terms	291	(10)
B Who's Who in Classical Mythology	301	(60)
C What's in a Name? Greek and Roman Gods and Heroes	361	(2)
D Be Careful What You Wish For: The Fates of Mortals Who Slept with Gods or Goddesses	363
E Read More About It	361	(8)
Index	369