In a work that has become a classic reference book for both the serious scholar and the casual inquirer, Graves retells the adventures of the important gods and heroes worshipped by the ancient Greeks. Each entry provides a full commentary which examines problems of interpretation in both historical and anthropological terms, and in light of contemporary research.
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Robert Graves has no equal in retelling the myths and fables of the ancient world. He possesses the ability of a story teller, the language sense of a poet and an encyclopedic mind for detail. He gives us the whole Greek pantheon from tales of the major figures like the goddess Athene to the many variations on the life and loves of Zeus to minor characters like Garamas and Nestor. When a classical education is spoke of, this book is one very good place to begin--and return to over and over again. Graves gives readers and scholars all that they could expect from one volume. Each paragraph is referenced, and some are cross-referenced. The index is thirty-five pages with notes. The wonder of this book is the readability and authority together in one text. Definitive is not a word used casually in the world of classical literature, but in Greek Myths, we have just that. The two volumes are included in this one volume edition.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Robert Graves was born in 1895 in Wimbledon, the son of Irish writer Perceval Graves and Amalia Von Ranke. He went from school to the First World War, where he became a captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. After this, apart from a year as Professor of English Literature at Cairo University in 1926, he earned his living by writing, mostly historical novels, including: I, Claudius; Claudius the God; Count Belisarius; Wife of Mr Milton; Sergeant Lamb of the Ninth; Proceed, Sergeant Lamb; The Golden Fleece; They Hanged My Saintly Billy; and The Isles of Unwisdom. He wrote his autobiography, Goodbye to All That, in 1929, and it was soon established as a modern classic. The Times Literary Supplement acclaimed it as 'one of the most candid self portraits of a poet, warts and all, ever painted', as well as being of exceptional value as a war document. Two of his most discussed non-fiction works are The White Goddess, which presents a new view of the poetic impulse, and The Nazarine Gospel Restored (with Joshua Podro), a re-examination of primitive Christianity. He also translated Apuleius, Lucan and Suetonius for the Penguin Classics, and compiled the first modern dictionary of Greek Mythology, The Greek Myths. His translation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (with Omar Ali-Shah) is also published in Penguin. He was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford in 1961 and made an Honorary Fellow of St John's College, Oxford, in 1971.
Robert Graves died on 7 December 1985 in Majorca, his home since 1929. On his death The Times wrote of him, 'He will be remembered for his achievements as a prose stylist, historical novelist and memorist, but above all as the great paradigm of the dedicated poet, "the greatest love poet in English since Donne".'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
96 of 98 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book is remarkable for many reasons. It covers the entire cannon of greek myths and legends in a refreshing and illuminating way. Graves cross-indexes the entire book with a kind of "internet-link hypertext" (this book was written WAY before the WWW) that can lead to surprising connections. And yes, he does present his ingenious "key" to understanding the "true" meanings "hidden" behind these stories, but he had the decency to separate these from the more generally accepted "University course" interpretations. And, as even critical reviewers have pointed out, even if you disagree with what he has to say, he was an extremely well read and scholarly man with an astonishing knack for rendering the past vivid and meaningful. His opinions are always thought provoking and worth reading...
241 of 248 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Robert Graves' THE GREEK MYTHS falls between the Victorian bombast of Bulfinch and the popular style of Edith Hamilton, less stylistically intimidating than the former and more scholarly than the latter. Originally published as a two volume set in 1955 with author revisions in 1957 and 1960, this single volume text does not abridge the original text but merely confines it to a single binding.
One's reaction to THE GREEK MYTHS will depend to some extent on one's purpose in acquiring it. This is an exhaustive collection of Greek mythology that far outstrips any other modern anthology that I have encountered, including myths both better known and extremely obscure. Each myth is presented in concise, graceful prose, and where possible Graves includes genealogies of the characters and major variations of each myth; an interpretive essay also follows each myth.
While Graves' retelling of the myths themselves have been widely praised, his interpretations of the myths have been somewhat criticized--and justly so. Graves tends to see incarnations of the "White Goddess" and the "Sacrificial King" in every third story; more dangerously, he tends to tie the myths to historical events in a highly speculative way. While this does not undercut the interest of his interpretations, it does hold a number of traps for the casual reader, who may assume that Graves' essays offer standard, scholastically unbiased interpretations based on proven historical events.
For myself, I use Graves' THE GREEK MYTHS as both reference and pleasure-reading, and I enjoy it a great deal; it is an indispensable purchase for any one with a serious interest in Greek mythology or for any one who must frequently reference the same for scholarly purposes, and I strongly recommend it to them. At the same time, however, I would hesitate to recommend it to readers who have not previously been exposed to Greek mythology or who wish only a general knowledge of the major Greek myths; in such cases I would instead recommend Edith Hamilton's MYTHOLOGY: TIMELESS TALES OF GODS AND HEROES.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By demola
Format:Paperback
The one thing to note right now is that this book is not a story book. There are 171 myths in this book and each one is full of detail. This is an anthology that grafts together different sources of the same story though taking care to warn you of alternate versions. Then Graves gives his highly opinionated interpretation where he has this thing about the king who has to be sacrificed every few years and each myth purportedly supports this interpretation. One example in The Foundation of Troy myth: "Priam had fifty sons, nineteen of whom were legitimate; this suggests that at Troy the length of the king's reign was governed by the nineteen year metonic cycle". That's just preposterous - how do you plan and ensure you have exactly 19 legitimate sons because there's a 19 year cycle thing you need to match? Graves' book is full of this sort of dialectic. So why 5 stars: well I don't think you'll find another book this comprehensive fortified with extensive analysis. For all its faults, it really brought home the fact that these myths were just that: myths, garnished stories that were either entirely made up or abstracted/distorted from real stories. The other thing I learned was that these stories were disputed even in ancient times (of course now I remember, Socrates was executed for disputing some): about which gods did what and where and to whom. And let's face it they were always up to mischief especially as they could never stop raping beautiful women and sometimes boys (the homoerotic thing Graves tended to dismiss, shame). My take on these stories is that they were welcome justification for the acts of men, afterall if it's ok for a god to rape, kill, steal and cheat then it must be ok for us mere mortals.
A useful (and essential?) reference book.
A useful (and essential?) reference book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thorough work and an informative read.
A great book for anyone interested in the who's who of Greek mythology. Detailed, knowledgeable and well illustrated.
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!
Published 1 month ago by J West
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
Product was in great condition and came within a few days
This book is both imaginative and informative, Graves sheds light on the ideas of a civilization believed to be... Read more
This book is both imaginative and informative, Graves sheds light on the ideas of a civilization believed to be... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Ria
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Greek Myths - A review by Barry Van-Asten
The Greek Myths by Robert Graves (1895-1985) is truly a labour of love by a man who not only understood the importance of the myths but also recognised their relevance in the... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. B. P. Van-asten
3.0 out of 5 stars
Greek Myths
Not as enjoyable as most of Robert Graves books. I could only read it by going into a particular page or two and then leaving off until the next time
Published 23 months ago by Jimser10
2.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely aimed at serious scholars, not enthusiastic teens
We ordered this for my 13 year old son who is an avid reader and loves reading Greek and Norse myths - he had put this genre on his birthday list, alongside the usual DS games etc! Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2010 by Emma
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beware of Greek's Bearing Myths
Robert Graves "The Greek Myths" is a wonderful resource for learning about the myths of ancient Greece. Originally published in 1955, it was updated for the last time in 1960. Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2010 by Dave_42
4.0 out of 5 stars
Summary
Covers most of the stories from creation to super heroes. Could do with a few more pictures.
Published on 8 Jun 2010 by E. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars
Greek Mythology: Fact or Fiction?
Like no one before him Robert Graves is able to tell the Greek legends about gods and heroes for modern readers. Read more
Published on 4 April 2010 by Jan Dierckx
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic book of classic tales
Robert Graves's Greek Myths isn't new to me. I loved dipping into my father's two-volume edition as a teenager and always wanted my own copy. Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2010 by Art-67
2.0 out of 5 stars
Highly misleading
Robert Graves was a total individualist, and this book is highly misleading. Graves takes a load of disparate sources and stitches them together as though each myth were one... Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2009 by Fuficius Fango
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