Mythology

Introduction

“Classical mythology” is a modern conceit that presents as a unified and relatively coherent whole what for the ancients themselves were Greek and Roman multiform traditions, which often (especially in Greece) had no unity, but rather many local variations. Indeed, “mythology” itself is an ambiguous term, since it designates both the collection of myths of a certain culture and the scholarly study of those myths. In addition, there is no definition of myth that is universally accepted by scholars and capable of encompassing all cases of known myths. Furthermore, the mythology of Greece and Rome is closely connected with Greek and Roman religion, since the gods and heroes who populate myths were also celebrated in religious rituals. Some scholarly approaches even postulate an intimate connection between myth and ritual (see Myth and Ritual). Hence, important works on Greek and Roman religion need to be consulted also by the student of classical mythology. (“Classical” in this connection is used to mean “Greek and Roman.”) The present bibliography offers some guidance to the reader in the field of mythology. Priority has been given to works that are either recent or of historical importance or enduring value. The bibliography treats all aspects of myth, from the concept of myth itself to studies of individual gods and heroes, from the relationship between myth and ritual to the reception of myth in the modern era. The headings are designed to facilitate consultation on individual subjects and do not represent a particular theoretical view.

General Overviews

Most handbooks of mythology and religion have introductory chapters on the methodological and theoretical questions involved in the study of myth. In this section are included works devoted more specifically to the problems of definition and interpretation of the concepts of “myth” and “mythology,” and the development of mythology as a discipline. A second heading in this section presents some general introductions to classical mythology. Feldman and Richardson 1972 is one the best starting points for those interested in the historical development of the study of myth as a modern discipline. The contributions in Calame 1988 demonstrate the plurality of meanings that myths had for the Greeks and elaborates on the difficulty of finding a sufficient definition of the concept, while Calame 1991 reflects on the problem of applying “myth” and “ritual,” as modern intellectual categories, to the ancients. Detienne 1986 concentrates on the birth and intellectual longevity of the view that myth is opposed to reason, which, he proposes, we inherited, together with their myths, from the Greeks. Veyne 1988 attempts to elucidate how the ancient Greeks themselves related to what we call “myths.” Bettini 2006 examines the Latin terms for “myth.”

Bettini, Maurizio. 2006. Mythos/fabula: Authoritative and discredited speech. History of Religions 45:195–212.
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Original in that it discusses Latin terms, such as fabula (and not only the Greek mythos, etc., as is more usual), for what we call “myth.”
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Calame, Claude, ed. 1988. Métamorphoses du mythe en Grèce antique. Geneva, Switzerland: Labor et Fides.
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In his introduction to this excellent work, Calame reflects on the difficulties of pinning down the “essence” of “myth.” The volume’s diverse contributions exemplify the polyvalence of the concept and its varied applications in Greek culture (in both texts and the plastic arts), which bear witness to its complexity.
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Calame, Claude. 1991. “Mythe” et “rite” en Grèce: Des catégories indigènes? Kernos 4:179–204.
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Poses the important question of the legitimacy of applying to the Greeks the concepts of “myth” and “rite,” which are creations of the modern era. Learned and interesting.
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Detienne, Marcel. 1986. The creation of mythology. Translated by Margaret Cook. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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Discusses the birth of the modern concept of myth as opposed to reason (which the author attributes to Plato and Thucydides in particular), and of mythology as a discipline. Although not easy to read, its influence is felt in subsequent treatments of the issue. Translation of the French original, L’invention de la mythologie (Paris: Gallimard, 1981).
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Feldman, Burton, and Robert D. Richardson, eds. 1972. The rise of modern mythology, 1680–1860. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press.
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This is a classic collection of the most relevant sources in the development of the modern science of mythology. The forerunners of the discipline (Vico, Herder, Heyne, etc.) are all presented in English translation.
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Veyne, Paul. 1988. Did the Greeks believe in their myths? An essay on the constitutive imagination. Translated by P. Wissing. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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This is an interesting evaluation of the role and relevance of myths in Greek culture; it poses important questions about myth and truth, myth and history, and so on, and attempts to determine the conduits by which myths became established truths. Translation of the French original, Les Grecs ont-ils cru à leurs mythes? Essai sur l’imagination constituante (Paris: du Seuil, 1983).
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Introductory Works

Kirk 1970 and Kirk 1974 are clear and complete introductions. Graf 1993, much more recent, pays special attention to the development of mythology as a science and to the ancient tradition of mythography. Saïd 1992 is useful as a short introduction with broad coverage. Buxton 2004 is probably the best recent introduction in English, while Buxton 1994 and Dowden 1992 are both more detailed and offer more complex arguments. Konstan 1991 concentrates on the characteristics specific to the Greek mythical tradition.

Buxton, Richard. 1994. Imaginary Greece: The contexts of mythology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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An attempt to bridge the divide between the traditional British approach to myth and French-inspired theory (both the sociological approach of Gernet and the structuralism of Lévi-Strauss). Buxton gives an overview or introduction to Greek culture as it is revealed by the myths. Although a general audience is targeted, this book poses larger intellectual questions that are stimulating for the specialist. A final chapter on the modern use of Greek myths is clear and useful.
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Buxton, Richard. 2004. The complete world of Greek mythology. London: Thames and Hudson.
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Not exactly a handbook, this constitutes an excellent introduction to Greek mythology. Although written in a style accessible to a general audience, it exhibits detailed knowledge of the subject from which professionals will also benefit. It covers a lot of territory, including areas not usually addressed by other handbooks, such as the influence of Greek myths in subsequent European culture, beginning with Rome and ending in the 20th century.
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Dowden, Ken. 1992. The uses of Greek mythology. London and New York: Routledge.
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This introduction to the study of Greek myth offers an overview of the different approaches in the discipline, and, stressing the historical value of myths and the importance of initiation rituals, it offers a good analysis of the use that Greek culture made of its myths. Its well-organized bibliography is also useful.
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Graf, Fritz. 1993. Greek mythology: An introduction. Translated by Thomas Marier. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
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A good general introduction to the subject. Graf traces the evolution of mythological science from its beginnings in the 17th century to the present day, and studies the development of the Greek mythological tradition (with its Near Eastern influences) in the works of Homer, Hesiod, and the tragedians. He also examines philosophers’ critical view of the tradition, and its continuation in later mythographers. Translation of the German original, Griechische Mythologie (Munich and Zurich: Artemis, 1985).
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Kirk, G. S. 1970. Myth: Its meaning and functions in ancient and other cultures. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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Considers most aspects of Greek myths: problems of definition, connection to Near Eastern cultures, and theoretical approaches to the study of myth. It constitutes a good introduction to the subject, written in a clear style appropriate for use by students. Together with Kirk 1974, this is a classic in the field.
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Kirk, G. S. 1974. The nature of Greek myths. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.
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Explores the insufficiency of all theories of myth to satisfactorily cover and explain all Greek cases, and does so by studying concrete examples. There is also an attempt to highlight what differentiates Greek myths from those of other traditions. An explanation and continuation of Kirk 1970; these works together constitute an excellent introduction to the subject.
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Konstan, David. 1991. What is Greek about Greek mythology? Kernos 4:13–30.
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Presents a series of features that are specific to Greek mythology and not found in other traditions.
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Saïd, Suzanne. 1992. Approches de la mythologie grecque. París: Nathan.
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One of the virtues of this introduction to the study of myth is its brevity; the other, its clarity. Well-organized and informative.
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Bibliographies

Cited in this section are systematic bibliographies (with the exception of Robertson 1990–1991, which is a critical review of several books); note that most handbooks and many other works include good bibliographies as well. The bibliographical reports in the journal Kernos are a basic research tool for the specialist. Mayor 2000 is a welcome novelty, since until recently not much attention had been paid to folklore, in spite of its close connection to mythology. Peradotto 1973 is out of date, but his sometimes very personal approach still holds interest. Jung and Eschweiler 1968– is unique in its type and is a major source for bibliography.

Jung, Hermann, and Peter Eschweiler, eds. 1968–. Bibliographie zur Symbolik, Ikonographie und Mythologie: Internationales Referateorgan (begründet von Manfred Lurker). Baden-Baden, Germany: Koerner.
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Begun by Manfred Lurker in 1968 and produced yearly by a distinguished group of scholars, this publication offers brief critical reviews of bibliography on religion, mythology, iconography, and other disciplines in which the concept of “symbol” plays a role (e.g., ethnology, psychology, law). It is impossible here to describe fully the scope and contents of this extraordinary resource for scholars across disciplines (see the review of the first volumes by Matthias Vereno in History of Religions 12 (1972): 188–190).
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Kernos: Revue internationale et pluridisciplinaire de religion grecque antique. Athens, Greece, and Liège, Belgium: Université de Liège.
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One of the fundamental periodicals in the study of ancient religion. Each issue contains a bibliographical section (“Chronique bibliographique”). A website (Mentor) that will make this bibliography accessible online is in preparation. It also offers sections on epigraphy (“Bulletin epigraphique”) and archaeology (“Chronique archéologique”), which provide information about new finds related to the field of religion.
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Mayor, Adrienne. 2000. Bibliography of classical folklore scholarship: Myths, legends, and popular beliefs of ancient Greece and Rome. Folklore 111:123–128.
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A welcome attempt to bridge the divide that exists between classicists and folklorists; its descriptions of the works reviewed are useful.
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Peradotto, John. 1973. Classical mythology: An annotated bibliographical survey. Urbana, IL: American Philological Association.
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Rich catalogue, organized by category. Each entry is evaluated from the personal point of view of the author.
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Robertson, N. 1990–1991. Some recent work in Greek religion and mythology. Echos du Monde Classique/Classical Views 34:419–442; 35:7–79.
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An informative and analytical review of several books on Greek religion. Its intelligent critiques of these works are very useful.
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Encyclopedias and Genealogical Lists

Encyclopedias on the ancient world, such as Pauly, et al. 1996–2002, offer chapters or entries on the main subjects of mythology and religion. General encyclopedias of religion can be helpful in providing introductions to general concepts and parallels for classical myths and rituals in other cultures; Eliade, et al. 1987 and Jones 2005 are particularly good because of their ample scope. Although most handbooks include genealogical lists, none offers a complete overview of the subject in one single genealogical chart; this is what James 2003, Newman and Newman 2003, and Parada 1993 aspire to do.

Eliade, Mircea, Charles J. Adams, et al., eds. 1987. The encyclopedia of religion. 16 vols. New York: Macmillan.
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Now a classic, this ambitious work incorporated up-to-date knowledge of world religions (and thus was less Eurocentric than previous works) and gathered an extraordinary array of international specialists. It covers practically all aspects of religion throughout human history, although there are some surprising and unfortunate omissions in the treatment of ancient religions. For both the specialist and the educated general reader.
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James, Vanessa. 2003. Genealogy of Greek mythology. New York: Gotham.
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Attractive chart for wall display; it does not include primary sources. Useful for lower-level students and beginners.
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Jones, Lindsay, ed. 2005. Encyclopedia of religion. 2d ed. 15 vols. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.
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This is the second edition, prepared by Jones (a disciple of Eliade) of Eliade’s Encyclopedia of religion. A good number of new entries have been added, and many others have been modified.
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Newman, Harold, and Jon O. Newman. 2003. A genealogical chart of Greek mythology. Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press.
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Much better organized and more user-friendly than Parada 1993, it contains a wealth of information for the professional. Complex issues are necessarily simplified to fit into a single chart. Students will probably get lost in it and should use it with guidance.
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Parada, Carlos. 1993. Genealogical guide to Greek mythology. Jonsered, Sweden: Åström.
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Very complete, but difficult to use.
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Pauly, August Friedrich von, Hubert Cancik, and Helmuth Schneider, eds. 1996–2002. Der neue Pauly. Encyclopädie der Antike. Stuttgart, Germany: J. B. Metzler.
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This is the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedia of the ancient world. The old edition is in some cases still better than the new one, but the latter, apart from its date, presents the additional advantage of being available in English translation: Brill’s New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the ancient world: Antiquity (Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2002–2009), and is accessible online by subscription in both German and English versions.
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Perseus digital library.
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This digital library of the classical world is useful for both students and professionals. It offers most of the original sources for the study of classical mythology in Greek and Latin with English translations, grammar tools and commentaries, access to basic reference works, and images.
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Dictionaries

The various dictionaries listed in this section serve different needs. Bonnefoy 1991 and Leeming 2005 are in fact encyclopedic in scope and size and include much more than classical mythology. Röscher 1884–1937 is also monumental, but restricted to Greece and Rome. Grimal and Kershaw 1992, March 1998, and Tripp 1970 are among the best medium-sized dictionaries of mythology, while Kearns and Price 2003 is more limited. Harrauer and Hunger 2006 and GRIMM are specialized dictionaries covering different aspects of classical mythology, such as later tradition and etymology. There are many other good dictionaries; this list is necessarily very selective.

Bonnefoy, Yves, and Wendy Doniger,eds. 1991. Mythologies. 2 vols. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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A classic from the time of its first publication in 1981. This English edition introduces some improvements in organization. Written by the best specialists, it includes excellent illustrations and is beautifully printed. It offers chapters on the survival of myths today in different areas of contemporary culture. Its general conception shows how much modern myth is still connected to the world of the Greco-Roman classics, and how we project our European mentality onto myths of other cultures. Bonnefoy expresses his desire that the book be continually revised, progressively reducing the eurocentrism that characterizes our views of myth. Translation of the French original, Dictionnaire des mythologies et des religions des societes traditionnelle et du monde antique (Paris: Flammarion, 1981).
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Grimal, Pierre, and Stephen Kershaw. 1992. The Penguin dictionary of classical mythology. Translated by A. R. Maxwell-Hyslop. New York: Penguin.
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Quite complete; one of its advantages is that it gives ample information about primary sources for each myth and character. Sometimes the interpretations offered are confusing. Translation of the French original, Dictionnaire de la mythology grecque et romaine (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1951).
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GRIMM (Gruppo di Ricerca sul Mito e la Mitografia dell’Università di Trieste). Dizionario Etimologico della Mitologia Greca multilingue On Line (DEMGOL).
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This extraordinary project, undertaken by the Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità “Leonardo Ferrero” under the supervision of Ezzio Pellizer, is still in development. Its object is to produce a multilingual dictionary (so far the Italian version is the most advanced, but the French and Spanish versions are already in process) with the etymologies for all the names of characters in mythology, which are also classified under categories (animals, heroes, persons, peoples, gods). Includes ample bibliography and images.
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Harrauer, Christine, and Herbert Hunger. 2006. Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie: mit Hinweisen auf das Fortwirken antiker Stoffe und Motive in der bildenden Kunst, Literatur und Musik des Abendlandes bis zur Gegenwart. 9th ed. Purkersdorf, Austria: Hollinek.
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This lexicon, first published by Hunger in 1959, has here been completely revised, with many new references. Still one of the most complete collections of materials on the survival of classical mythology in later Western culture up to our time.
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Kearns, Emily, and S. R. F. Price, eds. 2003. The Oxford dictionary of classical myth and religion. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Collection of the entries related to myth and religion from the third edition of the Oxford classical dictionary, abbreviated and with some slight changes. The professional classicist will prefer the longer work.
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Leeming, David Adams. 2005. The Oxford companion to world mythology. Oxford and New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Useful as a quick reference, with sensible introductions to most topics. It has the advantage of not being limited to classical mythology.
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March, Jennifer R. 1998. Cassell dictionary of classical mythology. London: Cassell.
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An excellent work that retells the myths with clarity and covers not only characters but also places and objects. This is a major contribution, comprehensible and readable for a larger audience and beginners, and interesting for the specialist (attention is paid to different versions and more obscure myths). Good illustrations contribute to the success of this volume.
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Röscher, W. H., ed. 1884–1937. Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie. Fortgesetzt und abgeschlossen von K. Ziegler. 6 vols. and 4 supps. Leipzig, Germany: B. G. Teubner.
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Although outdated in its approach and lacking in interpretation, this still presents the most comprehensive collection of primary sources of information. It needs to be complemented with more recent works. New edition: Hildesheim, Germany: G. Olms, 1977–1978; reprinted 1992–1993.
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Tripp, Edward. 1970. Crowell’s handbook of classical mythology. New York: Crowell.
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Although it is called a “handbook,” its alphabetical organization makes it more like a dictionary. Addressed to a wide audience, it lacks interpretations but is very easy to use, readable, and reliable. Sources are given only for the main entries.
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Handbooks

The first part of this section presents a selection of general handbooks on classical (that is, Greek and Roman) mythology; next, handbooks that treat only Greek or only Roman materials are given their respective subsections. Given the close connection between mythology and religion, this section also includes handbooks on religion. Although most of these works concentrate on religious practice (rituals, prayers, customs), they inevitably offer information about the gods and heroes that constitute the substance of myths, and about the textual and archaeological sources that are also basic for the study of myth.

Handbooks on Classical Mythology

Johnston 2004 is the only work included in this first part that treats not only Greece and Rome but also other ancient cultures, and that concentrates on religion, not myth. Some of the other titles are well-known classics in mythology courses (Harris and Platzner 1995, Morford and Lenardon 2007), and there are good reasons for that. Desautels 1988 caused a sensation at the time of its publication and is still a pleasure to read. Grant 1962 made myths, presented in their original sources, appealing to larger audiences. Hansen 2004 succeeds in producing a medium-sized book that can serve both high school students and more seasoned readers well. Powell 1998 delves more than others into modern mythological theory. Finally, Ruck and Staples 1994 presents a very personal, not necessarily standard, view of Greek myths.

Desautels, Jacques. 1988. Dieux et mythes de la Grèce ancienne: La mythologie gréco-romaine. Laval, Quebec, Canada: Presses de l’Université de Laval.
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Analytical presentation of myths, very complete and easy to read and use. It contains many illustrations and genealogical tables.
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Grant, Michael. 1962. Myths of the Greeks and Romans. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
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Part of Grant’s industry of handbooks on antiquity; often dull, but useful for the inclusion of Roman myths and many original sources, especially Roman sources (including historians), at a time when that was far less common than it is today.
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Hansen, William. 2004. Handbook of classical mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
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This work is part of a series addressed to high school and college students. Hansen succeeds in providing a solid introduction to the subject, which can also be used as a reference tool; available in book and e-book formats. The excellent chapter on sources includes a detailed list of ancient sources, ample secondary literature on the subject, and electronic resources such as websites and databases.
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Harris, Stephen L., and Gloria Platzner. 1995. Classical mythology: Images and insights. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.
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Informative and well-presented, this handbook is a classic in mythology courses. Its design makes difficult materials accessible to students. Many original sources are quoted in translation, and a bibliographical list complements each chapter. The Instructor’s manual and test bank to accompany Classical mythology: Images and insights, prepared by Nina Rosenstand, contains further suggestions for essays and questions for class discussions.
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Johnston, Sarah Iles, ed. 2004. Religions of the ancient world: A guide. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard Univ. Press.
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In spite of its title, this is in fact concerned only with the main religions of the Mediterranean (not a small topic, in any case). It has an important chapter on myth by Fritz Graf, but it is in general a very good introduction to the problems posed by these ancient religions and their interactions. Attention is paid to philosophy and other cultural phenomena and their intersections with religion proper. The chapter on Roman religion is thin.
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Morford, Mark P. O., and Robert J. Lenardon. 2007. Classical mythology. 8th ed. Oxford and New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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A well-known general handbook, used in many courses since its first edition in 1971, it offers an extensive collection of sources in translation, and sensible presentations of each myth by the authors. It pays attention to archaeological information and the representations of myths in the plastic arts. Now also online.
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Powell, Barry B. 1998. Classical myth. 2d ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
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Pays careful attention to the question of defining “myth,” Near Eastern influences in the formation of Greek myths, and modern interpretations of myth. Good, extensive bibliographies for each chapter. The illustrations are numerous and appropriately arranged to match the text. Good aid for teachers of mythology courses.
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Ruck, Carl A. P., and Danny Staples. 1994. The world of classical myth: Gods and goddesses, heroines and heroes. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
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Although intended to be used as a tool in the teaching of mythology, this handbook, which can be fascinating for more advanced scholars to read, presents too many undemonstrated theories as facts and should not to be used by students without a good deal of guidance.
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Vernant, Jean-Pierre. 2001. The universe, the gods, and men: Ancient Greek myths. Translated by Linda Asher. New York: HarperCollins.
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Treatment of the main myths of the gods before the sovereignty of Zeus, and of some heroes (with chapters on the Trojan War, Odysseus, Oedipus, and Perseus), in the always appealing style of one of the towering figures in the study of mythology. Translation of the French original, L’univers, les dieux, les hommes: Récits grecs des origines (Paris: du Seuil, 1999).
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Handbooks on Greek Mythology

Nilsson 1941–1950 was the standard handbook of Greek religion until the publication of Burkert 1985. Bremmer 1994 updates Burkert in important respects, while Bruit Zaidman and Schmitt-Pantel 1992 filled a void in scholarship in English at the time of its publication and made accessible to the English-speaking public the approach of the French school. Parker 1996 is more limited in scope, dealing only with Athenian religion. The four titles that deal specifically with mythology have very different goals; the old Preller 1894–1921 is still a monumental collection of data, while Gantz 1993 and Hard 2004, in their different ways, are both excellent modern handbooks. Finally, Woodard 2007, though not strictly a handbook, is an interesting collection of various perspectives on a variety of issues.

Bremmer, Jan Nicolaas. 1994. Greek religion. Oxford and New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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This is an excellent introduction to the subject, which also gives an overview of the main interpretative theories and scholarly advances since the publication of the 1977 German edition of Burkert’s Greek religion. It covers a lot of material for its size and is clearly written. Available online.
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Bruit Zaidman, Louise, and Pauline Schmitt-Pantel. 1992. Religion in the ancient Greek city. Translated by Paul Cartledge. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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In spite of its brevity, this gives the reader a good idea of the problems involved in the study of Greek religion. It is an excellent introduction for students and filled a void in that field. It is excessively French in its bibliography; its interpretations of gods and heroes are largely based on Vernant, Detienne, and others of their school. Translation of the French original, La religion grecque (Paris: A. Colin, 1989).
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Burkert, Walter. 1985. Greek religion: Archaic and Classical. Translated by J. Raffan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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In spite of some problems of organization and interpretation and occasional lack of clarity, Burkert’s handbook is a classic, indispensable reference. Eclectic in his interpretations, Burkert is influenced by both structuralism and the comparative approach (especially Near Eastern influences on Greek religion and mythology); in the end, though, he gives precedence to ritual over myth (which he considers only secondary and derived from ritual), and he has a concept of ritual, and of human behavior in general, that is deeply rooted in biological patterns. Translation of the German original, Griechische Religion der archaischen und klassischen Epoche (Stuttgart, Germany: Kohlhammer, 1977).
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Gantz, Timothy. 1993. Early Greek myth: A guide to literary and artistic sources. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
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Excellent, but detailed; not a casual guide, it reexamines all the original sources. literary and visual, that we have for each myth and tracks the myths’ development and transformations. An essential reference work.
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Hard, Robin. 2004. The Routledge handbook of Greek mythology: Based on H. J. Rose’s Handbook of Greek mythology. London and New York: Routledge.
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Much longer than Rose’s original and very different in approach, its ample index, genealogical tables, and maps make this a useful tool for students and professionals alike.
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Nilsson, Martin P. 1941–1950. Geschichte der griechischen Religion. 1. Die Religion Griechenlands bis zur griechischen Weltherrschaft. 2. Die hellenistische und römische Zeit. Munich: Beck.
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A classic (2d edition, 1955–1961). In spite of many more recent treatments and its often outmoded interpretations, this is still one the clearest and most comprehensive general overviews.
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Parker, Robert C. T. 1996. Athenian religion: A history. Oxford and New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Indispensable for the specialist, this concentrates particularly on the administration and regulations of public sanctuaries and rituals. It also studies the arrival of new gods in Athens and the trial of Socrates.
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Preller, Ludwig. 1894–1921. Griechische Mythologie. Edited by C. Robert. 4th ed. 3 vols. Berlin: Weidmann.
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The work of Preller was practically rewritten in the 4th edition by Robert, who amplified the scope of the work and introduced basic changes of interpretation. The second volume (Die griechische Heldensagen), entirely composed by Robert, is still often cited by scholars. Reprinted, Berlin and Zurich, Switzerland,1964–1967; an inexpensive paperback edition was released by BiblioBazaar in December 2008.
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Woodard, Roger D., ed. 2007. The Cambridge companion to Greek mythology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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Written by a group of specialists, and thus presenting various points of view (sometimes idiosyncratic) and different styles of writing, this new companion is not a handbook. Its first part (“Sources and interpretations”) includes chapters devoted to different genres and works (e.g., lyric poetry, Homer, Hesiod, tragedy, Aristophanes). The second part (“Response, integration, representation”) situates myth in relation to other aspects of human life, such as religion and politics. This part includes, somewhat incongruously, a chapter on Ovid, the only space given to the Roman use of myth. A third part covers the reception of myth in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, literature in English, and film. Further readings are suggested at the end of each chapter, useful for up-to-date bibliography.
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Handbooks on Roman Mythology

The study of Roman myths has finally emerged in the past twenty-five years from the scholarly neglect to which it was subject particularly in English (in German, Walter Otto and his school made important contributions). It is now approached as a worthy subject in itself and not only as part of the reception of Greek myth. Scholars such as T. P. Wiseman have made this possible.

Handbooks Specifically on Roman Religion

Roman religion is also enjoying a good deal of scholarly attention, as the number of recent handbooks on the topic shows. Rüpke 2007a occupies a midpoint between the more concise Scheid 2003 and the more ample Beard, et al. 1998. Ando 2003 is not a handbook but a series of essays on Roman religion for the specialist. Dowden 1995 presents a short and idiosyncratic overview. In spite of many monographs published in recent years about cults and gods, in matters of Roman religion Wissowa 1912 is still worth consulting.

Ando, Clifford, ed. 2003. Roman religion. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univ. Press.
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This is a collection of previously published papers on Roman religion. Most were composed close to the date of this publication and thus indicate recent scholarship. Part 3 deals more specifically with myth, although other papers can also be relevant for scholars of mythology. This excellent volume is too dense and complex to be a real introduction to the religion of the Romans, but specialists will find in it much of interest.
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Beard, Mary, John North, and Simon Price. 1998. Religions of Rome. 2 vols. Cambridge, UK, and New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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This book is an extraordinary accomplishment. It offers excellent coverage of all issues regarding religion, connecting them to their cultural and political environment in a clear and accessible manner. Both students and professionals will profit from it. The source book is well presented, illustrations and maps are useful, and, in accord with the title, attention is paid to Jewish and Christian sources.
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Dowden, Ken. 1995. Religion and the Romans. 2d ed. London: Bristol Classical Press.
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Entertaining and lively in style, this brief introduction to Roman religion also includes information about the native cults of the provinces of the empire and pays attention to imports such as Mithras and Isis. It is nevertheless more appropriate for the advanced reader than for the beginner, given the author’s sometimes too personal views of Roman religion.
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Rüpke, Jörg. 2007a. Religion of the Romans. Translated and edited by Richard Gordon. Cambridge, UK and Malden, MA: Polity.
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Thematically organized and written at a more advanced level than Scheid 2003, and thus pedagogically less useful, its clarity recommends this as an excellent aid for the teacher of Roman religion; it contains many good examples. Some may find that too much attention is paid to the theory of ritual, and too little to the Hellenization of Roman religion and to religion in the empire. Translation of the German original, Die Religion der Römer: Eine Einführung (Munich: Beck, 2001).
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Rüpke, Jörg, ed. 2007b. A companion to Roman religion. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
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A very readable and up-to-date work, this collects a large number of contributions by an international group of specialists. Although some parts are more satisfying than others, this massive effort is a must for specialists.
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Scheid, John. 2003. An introduction to Roman religion. Translated by Janet Lloyd. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press.
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This is a much shorter book than Beard, et al. 1998, but it has the advantage of being very clear in its explanations, for example, of Roman religious terminology. Unlike other handbooks it also pays attention to the different theoretical positions in the study of religion. Translation of the French original, La religion des Romains (Paris: A. Colin, 1998).
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Turcan, Robert. 2000. The gods of ancient Rome: Religion in everyday life from Archaic to Imperial times. Translated by Antonia Nevill. London: Routledge.
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A brief introduction, written for general audiences, this can be of help to the beginner. Translation of the French original, Rome et ses dieux (Paris: Hachette, 1998).
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Wissowa, Georg. 1912. Religion und Kultus der Römer. Handbuch der klassischen Altertums-Wissenschaft 5. 4 vols. Munich: Beck.
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A fundamental work on Roman religion in German.
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Handbooks Specifically on Roman Myth

For detailed factual information on Roman myths, advanced students and specialists still need to consult Preller 1881–1883. Grant 1971 can also serve this purpose in a way accessible to the larger public. Much more recent and deeper in its analyses and interpretations, Wiseman 2004, although detailed, is also very readable. Gardner 1993, the best short overview, presents Roman myths from the point of view of the Romans, who treated them as history. Braund and Gill 2003 contains some papers that exemplify current ways to “read” Roman myths at the intersection of history, religion, and culture. Bremmer and Horsfall 1987 examines both myths and rituals, locating them within the history of Rome and often also within a comparative context. The literary use of myths in Rome is the subject of both Fabre-Serris 1998 and Feeney 1998, but Fabre-Serris offers more detailed examinations of particular texts and concentrates on myths, while Feeney presents an excellent and compact overview of the main issues (myth, belief, etc.) and fewer close analyses of texts.

Braund, David, and Christopher Gill, eds. 2003. Myth, history, and culture in Republican Rome: Studies in honour of T. P. Wiseman. Exeter, UK: Univ. of Exeter Press.
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This excellent volume exhibits the influence of T. P. Wiseman’s work on the study of Roman myth, especially for the incorporation of all possible sources (literary, historical, archaeological, etc.) that may amplify our vision of the Roman past. Wiseman in particular works at the intersection of our categories of “history” and “myth.”
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Bremmer, Jan, and Nicholas Horsfall. 1987. Studies in Roman myth and mythography. London: Institute of Classical Studies.
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At the time of its publication, this was one of the first signs of a change of attitude regarding Roman myths. The book shows clearly the different personalities and interests of its two authors: Bremmer’s arguments about rituals are easier to follow; Horsfall’s studies of myths are sometimes too intricate. Though Horsfall still tends to consider most Roman myth as “secondary,” that is, as a learned import from Greece, and underplays the role of the Romans’ own oral tradition, there is a lot to be learned here.
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Fabre-Serris, Jacqueline. 1998. Mythologie et littérature à Rome: La réécriture des mythes aux Iers siècles avant et après J.-C. Lausanne, Switzerland: Payot.
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This book studies myths in Roman literature, both the adaptation of Greek myths and specifically Roman ones, highlighting their political (and other) uses. It offers subtle analyses of many Roman texts in a crucial period of Roman history.
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Feeney, Denis C. 1998. Literature and religion at Rome: Cultures, contexts, beliefs. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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The title barely reflects the rich contents of this book, which offers much more than a learned exploration of religion and literature in Rome and their intimate connection, and illuminates many aspects of Roman cultural identity: adoption of Greek cult and myths, unity of politics and religion, and other topics. Fundamental for an understanding of Roman religion.
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Gardner, Jane F. 1993. Roman myths: The legendary past. Austin: Univ. of Texas Press.
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Brief, compact, and solid introduction to the subject. An effective companion for students reading for the first time Latin texts such as Cicero, Virgil, or Ovid.
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Grant, Michael. 1971. Roman myths. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
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This detailed account of the myths of Rome from the beginning until the Roman Republic is still popular, in spite of its date, owing to the amount of stories collected in it, the general clarity of its writing, and its somewhat simplistic approach.
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Preller, Ludwig. 1881–1883. Römische Mythologie. Edited by Henri Jordan. 4th ed. Berlin: Weidmann.
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There is also an inexpensive paperback edition of this classic (Surge, 2001), which, in spite of its date, is still very much in use, since in many cases it offers the best collection of primary sources. Reprinted, 1978.
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Wiseman, T. P. 2004. The myths of Rome. Exeter: Univ. of Exeter Press.
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This is not a light book, either in size or in content, yet it makes a good deal of information available to a large audience in an entertaining and interesting way. Enjoyable also for those interested in Roman history, not just myth. Stresses how much in Roman myth is genuinely Roman, rather than adopted from the Greeks.
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Origin of Greek Myths

The origin of the mythology and religion of the Greeks is an old problem, still not completely solved. Traditionally, it has been explained as resulting from the encounter of an Indo-European tradition (see Comparative Mythology of the Indo-Europeans) with the beliefs and practices of the aboriginal peoples who inhabited Greece before the arrival of the Indo-Europeans. To this a third component—a strong influence from Greece’s Near Eastern neighbors—needs to be added (see Burkert 1984; Penglase 1994; West 1997). Another big question is whether there is continuity between the religion and mythology of the Mycenaean civilization and that of the later Greeks (Nilsson 1972), or rather discontinuity (see the critique of Nilsson in Van Leuven 1996).

Burkert, Walter. 1984. Die orientalisierende Epoche in der griechischen Religion und Literatur. Heidelberg, Germany: Winter.
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A classic treatment of the strong influence of the Near East on Greek culture.
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Marinatos, Nanno. 2000. The goddess and the warrior: The naked goddess and mistress of animals in early Greek religion. London and New York: Routledge.
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Defends the Near Eastern origins of this figure, with arguments based on archaeological evidence. Well illustrated, it deals mostly with the Iron Age, but contains a lot of information about the Bronze Age too. It shows convincingly the role of the goddess as patron of young warriors.
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Mondi, R. 1990. Greek mythic thought in the light of the Near East. In Approaches to Greek myth. Edited by Lowell Edmunds, 160–189. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
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This is a very good introduction to the study of parallels between the myths of Greece and the Near East.
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Nilsson, Martin P.. 1972. The Mycenaean origin of Greek mythology. New introduction and bibliography by E. Vermeule. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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Nilsson defended, with the clarity and care that characterized all his scholarship, the thesis that Greek mythology and religion had its origins in Mycenaean civilization; that is, there is continuity rather than rupture.
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Penglase, Charles. 1994. Greek myths and Mesopotamia: Parallels and influence in the Homeric hymns and Hesiod. London and New York: Routledge.
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This book explores some possible connections between Greek myth and its Near Eastern parallels. Unfortunately, it lacks the rigor expected of academic publications.
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Van Leuven, Jon. 1996. The Nilssonian origin of Mycenaean mythology. In Atti e memorie del secondo congresso internazionale di micenologia, Roma-Napoli, 14–20 ottobre 1991. Vol. 2. Edited by Ernesto de Miro, Louis Godart, and Anna Sacconi, 923–938. Rome: Gruppo Editoriale Internazionale.
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A relatively recent reassessment and criticism of Nilsson 1972, arguing that classical Greek mythology and religion are not continuations of the Mycenaean tradition but are rather born during the “dark ages.”
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West, Martin L. 1997. The east face of Helicon: West Asiatic elements in Greek poetry and myth. Oxford: Clarendon.
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West was among the first scholars to study in detail the influences of the Near East on Greek religion, myth, and poetry. His 1966 edition of Hesiod’s Theogony (Oxford University Press) was a landmark in this regard. This work is a comprehensive and learned study that reflects the lifelong dedication of the author to this field.
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Origin of Roman Myths

Roman mythology, as noted in other sections, has only recently emerged as having its own identity and not as simply derivative from Greece. Beard 1993 offers an intelligent approach to the question of the origins of Roman myths, while Champeaux 2002 adds precise chronologies to the debate. Meurant 2000 exemplifies what a good analysis of one major myth can teach us about its genuinely Roman character. See also Handbooks on Roman Mythology.

Beard, Mary. 1993. Looking (harder) for Roman myth: Dumézil, declamation, and the problems of definition. In Mythos in mythenloser Gesellschaft: Das Paradigma Roms. Edited by Fritz Graf, 44–64. Stuttgart, Germany: Teubner.
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Looks into Roman traditions as evidence for the existence of “true” Roman myth.
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Champeaux, Jacqueline. 2002. Mythologie indo-européenne, mythologie grecque dans la religion romaine archaïque. Latomus 61:553–576.
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About the two processes that determined the birth of Roman myth: the weakening of the Indo-European heritage of the Romans (6th to 4th centuries BCE), along with a profound Hellenization of Roman religion, exemplified in the adoption of the Capitoline Triad in the 6th century BCE.
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Grandazzi, Alexandre. 1997. The foundation of Rome: Myth and history. Translated by Jane Marie Todd. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. Press.
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This is basically a book about the history of Rome. It is included here because it studies carefully (to dismiss it) the application of Dumézil’s theories to the origins of Rome. Translation of the French original, La fondation de Rome: Réflexion sur l’histoire (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1991).
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Meurant, Alain. 2000. L’idée de gémellité dans la légende des origines de Rome. Brussels: Académie Royale de Belgique.
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Discussion of the succession of “ruling couples” in Rome (Aeneas and Turnus, Ascanius and Silvius, etc.) down to Romulus and Remus, in the light of the several attested Indo-European myths of twins. Despite the Indo-European background, the Roman legend presents characteristics that reveal its Italian origins.
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Mythography

Mythography (both Greek and Roman)—critical compilations of myths written in prose—was a popular genre in Antiquity and has received much scholarly attention recent years, with several professional meetings devoted to its study (see Centre d’étude de la religion grecque antique 2006 as a recent, representative sample). Fowler 2000 brings to light basic ancient sources for the study of mythography. Cameron 2004 in his rich book studies the use of mythographical writings by poets of the Roman Golden Age, while Fabre-Serris 2006 demonstrates its use by prose writers of the same period.

Cameron, Alan. 2004. Greek mythography in the Roman world. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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This learned work examines the use of Greek myth in Rome during the Late Republic and Empire, and proposes that in their references to Classical and Hellenistic poetry, the Latin poets used compilations of myths instead of original sources. Based on the model of the Mythographus Homericus, Cameron even postulates the existence of a similar Mythographus Vergilianus. The organization of the bibliographical references makes its use difficult, but every professional working on Roman poetry or Greek myth needs to consult this work.
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Centre d’étude de la religion grecque antique. 2006. Actes du Xe colloque du CIERGA: Formes et fonctions de la mythologie et de la mythographie gréco-romaine: de la généalogie au catalogue. Kernos 19. Liège, Belgium: Université de Liège.
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The nineteen papers stemming from a professional conference on mythology and mythography (Brussels, 2005) and published in this volume of Kernos are interesting contributions to the study of ancient mythography. Among them, see especially Fabre-Serris 2006 and Fowler 2006, cited here.
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Fabre-Serris, Jacqueline. 2006. La notion de divin à l’épreuve de la mythographie: Cicéron (De nat. deor. III); Diodore de Sicile (B.H. III). Kernos 19:177–192.
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Explores the use of mythographers by prose authors, especially Cicero and Diodorus, and shows that this was extensively practiced in 1st-century BCE Rome.
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Fowler, Robert Louis. 2000. Early Greek mythography. Vol. 1, Text and introduction. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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A collection of mythographical texts extracted from Jacoby’s Fragments of the Greek historians, which nevertheless accomplishes a good deal in making accessible a large number of primary sources essential for the study of prose mythological writing in antiquity.
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Fowler, Robert Louis. 2006. How to tell a myth: Genealogy, mythology, mythography. Kernos 19:35–46.
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Studies the possible functions of Greek mythographical texts in classical times to conclude that they were used as reference works.
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Allegory

The same can be said about other ancient interpretations of myth, and in particular allegorical readings (see Horn and Walter 1997). Lamberton 1986, Struck 2004, and Brisson 2004 concentrate on different but complementary aspects of the allegorical tradition.

Brisson, Luc. 2004. How philosophers saved myths: Allegorical interpretation and classical mythology. Translated by Catherine Tihanyi. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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Short overview of the allegorical tradition of interpretation from its origins and Plato to modern European culture. Robert Lamberton’s critical review (Classical Philology 101 [2006]: 161–165) nuances and sometimes disputes Brisson’s arguments. Translation of the French original, Sauver les mythes (Paris: Vrin, 1996).
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Horn, Hans-Jürgen, and Hermann Walter, eds. 1997. Die Allegorese des antiken Mythos. Wiesbaden, Germany: Harrassowitz.
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Proceedings of the 31st Wolfenbütteler Symposion (1992). Some contributions to this collective work offer theoretical reflections on allegorical interpretation, while other papers present practical applications of the theory to classical myths. Important for the specialist.
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Lamberton, Robert. 1986. Homer the theologian: Neoplatonist allegorical reading and the growth of the epic tradition. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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Following up on previous work by scholars such as F. Buffière and Jean Pépin, and in dialogue with them, Lamberton presents in a readable and well-organized manner the tradition of allegorical interpretation of Homer, from the ancients to the Middle Ages (the book ends with Dante). An interesting afterword examines allegorical interpretation from the point of view of modern literary theory. For graduate students and professionals.
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Struck, Peter Toline. 2004. Birth of the symbol: Ancient readers at the limits of their texts. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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Traces the development of allegorical criticism in antiquity, which created a new way of reading texts and started, in fact, what we call “interpretation,” to the point that modern literary theories are still indebted to this manner of reading. Of interest not only to classical scholars but also to those working in literary theory and philosophy.
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Modern Methods of Interpretation of Myth

Bremmer 1986 and Edmunds 1990, although they also contain some theoretical essays, mostly offer practical examples of the application to the study of Greek and Roman myth of different contemporary approaches. Segal 1999 and von Hendy 2002 both offer a critical history of mythology as a discipline, but Segal is more compact (better for a fast overview), while von Hendy is more theoretical but also more difficult to read. Csapo 2005 and Lincoln 1999 trace the history of the discipline too, but consider it rather from the point of view of intellectual history, and pay more attention (especially Lincoln) to the ideological prejudices of the scholars involved in this development. Schrempp and Hansen 2002 is particularly illuminating for the changes in the field in the past fifty years. Doherty 2005 is a recent, short, and readable aid for teachers and students of mythology.

Bremmer, Jan N., ed. 1986. Interpretations of Greek mythology. London: Croom Helm.
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Available online. Offers a variety of papers by authors who represent different schools of interpretation. Best represented are the myth and ritual school, structuralism, and new historicism. Bremmer’s introduction, his selective bibliography (1965–1986), and his own paper on the definition of myth (“What is a Greek myth?”) are still useful. A must.
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Csapo, Eric. 2005. Theories of mythology. Malden, MA, and Oxford: Blackwell.
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Its purpose is to examine the theories of myth developed in the 20th century, and the progress made in the study of myths in their larger historical and intellectual contexts. His treatment of Frazer’s work and Freud’s use of myths are probably the best part of this book. Less clear is his treatment of the Indo-European mythology of Max Müller. The chapter on structuralism can also be confusing. The last part, devoted to the study of ideology, is particularly valuable.
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Doherty, Lillian. 2005. Theory and the teaching of mythology. Classical World 98:193–197.
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This brief and clear article will prove useful for those teaching a mythology course, and looking for ways to integrate interpretation and theories of myth in their courses.
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Edmunds, Lowell, ed. 1990. Approaches to Greek myth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
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Illuminating exploration of the main schools of interpretation of myth, addressed to the advanced student. All theories (myth and ritual, psychoanalysis, comparison, structuralism, Indo-European mythology, etc.) are represented. Excellent introduction by Edmunds.
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Lincoln, Bruce. 1999. Theorizing myth: Narrative, ideology, and scholarship. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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This is an interesting reevaluation of the ideological prejudices that have driven and drive the work of scholars of mythology (especially of comparative mythology), written by an insider. In what is almost a self-examination, Lincoln critiques the history of the discipline and the word and concept of myth from the ancient Greeks to today.
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Schrempp, Gregory, and William Hansen, eds. 2002. Myth, a new symposium. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press.
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Presented as a commemoration, and, if not a replacement, at least an update or continuation of Thomas A. Sebeok, ed., Myth: A symposium (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972; originally published 1955), this book revisits many of the issues addressed in Sebeok, but from a contemporary perspective. There is less stress on myth as narrative and more on myth as the ideology of a society. Old theories, such as Max Müller’s “solar figures” or the Cambridge “myth and ritual school,” are reexamined.
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Segal, Robert A. 1999. Theorizing about myth. Amherst: Univ. of Massachusetts Press.
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This is a very learned and readable survey of all theories of myth from the end of the 19th century on. Although it is not a long book, its depth and detail may overwhelm beginners, but it is an excellent read for those who already have some knowledge of the materials.
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Von Hendy, Andrew. 2002. The modern construction of myth. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press.
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This is a highly sophisticated (for some, probably excessively theoretical and abstract) critical review of theories of myth from the 18th century to the present day. Very ample in scope, it places each stage of the development of mythology as a science within its intellectual background.
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Comparative Mythology of the Indo-Europeans

Although it was undertaken with enthusiasm in the 19th century as the reconstruction of the Indo-European protolanguage was taking shape, the new science of comparative mythology soon fell into disregard owing to the excesses of its most outspoken representative, Max Müller, who overstated the role of “solar figures” (see the recently reedited Müller 2002). Nevertheless, as linguistic work progressed, interest in reconstructing the culture, religion, mythology, and institutions of the Indo-Europeans made a spectacular comeback around the mid-20th century, especially in the hands of Georges Dumézil. Although Dumézil’s results faced very serious criticism, his work produced a new wave of interest in the religion and mythology of the Indo-Europeans, which continues to the present day.

Georges Dumézil (1898–1986) In Memoriam.
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A handy resource to consult for more information about Dumézil and his work.
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Müller, F. Max, and Pierre Brunel. 2002. Mythologie comparée. Paris: R. Laffont.
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Classic work on comparative mythology, revised with introduction and notes by Brunel.
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Introductions to the Indo-Europeans

Both Mallory 1989 and Mallory and Adams 1997 are basic tools, useful to the specialist and the amateur.

Mallory, J. P. 1989. In search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, archaeology, and myth. London: Thames and Hudson.
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Good introduction to the field of Indo-European studies for those unfamiliar with it.
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Mallory, J. P., and Douglas Q. Adams, eds. 1997. Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture. London and Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn.
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Basic work to consult, an excellent starting point for many issues.
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Works and Influence of Georges Dumézil

Of the works included here, Dumézil 1958 is the most important for familiarizing oneself with his ideas and methodology. Dumézil 1968–1973, the author’s application of the “tripartite” ideology to a large number of epics, is a monumental study that allows him to trace general characteristics of the genre. Dumézil 1988 examines in detail his notion of the “first function” and shows well the application of his theses to the Indian tradition, while Dumézil 1986 is a clear synthesis of the author’s views of Indo-European gods. Finally, Dumézil 1996 concerns Roman myth, to which he made many important contributions. Bélier 1991 is helpful in providing a good introduction to the works of Dumézil and his ideas (not always easy to understand). Littleton 1982 too can serve as an introduction, but by contrasting Dumézil with Lévi-Strauss this work locates Dumézil better in his intellectual context. Schlerath 1995 and Schlerath 1996 express serious criticisms of Dumézil’s cultural reconstruction.

Bélier, Wouter W. 1991. Decayed gods: Origins and development of Georges Dumézil’s ‘idéologie tripartie’. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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An excellent digest and critique of Dumézil’s theses, which Bélier finds impossible to verify, but describes accurately—no small task.
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Dumézil, Georges. 1958. L’idéologie tripartie des Indo-Européens. Brussels: Latomus.
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Exposition of what is probably the most important contribution by this author. In a very reductive way it may be described as follows: The original ideology of the Indo-Europeans organized human society according to three different and hierarchically organized functions: the first, concerned with sovereignty and the sacred, was represented by kings and priests; the second, representing force, corresponded to warriors; and the third, fertility (production and reproduction), corresponded to farmers, herdsmen, and so on.
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Dumézil, Georges. 1968–1973. Mythe et épopée: L’idéologie des trois fonctions dans les épopées des peuples indo-européens I–III. Paris: Gallimard.
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Application of the “tripartite ideology” to the epics, with special attention to Roman stories.
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Dumézil, Georges. 1986. Les dieux souverains des Indo-Européens. 3d ed. Paris: Gallimard.
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A synthesis of Dumézil’s thirty-some years of research on the Indo-European divinities.
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Dumézil, Georges. 1988. Mitra-Varuna: An essay on two Indo-European representations of sovereignty. Translated by Derek Coltman. New York: Zone.
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A classic by the author, who in this book explores the dual character of sovereignty among the Indo-Europeans: a magician-king figure is often found side by side with a jurist-priest, both expressing together Dumézil’s “first function.”
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Dumézil, Georges. 1996. Archaic Roman religion. Rev. ed. Translated by Philip Krapp. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
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Traces the origin of Roman religion back to the Romans’ Indo-European background and their contacts with other religions. Translation of the French original, La religion romaine archaïque suivi d’un appendice sur la religion des Etrusques (Paris: Payot, 1966).
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Littleton, C. Scott. 1982. The new comparative mythology: An anthropological assessment of the theories of G. Dumézil. 3d ed. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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In addition to being a review and synthesis of Dumézil’s work, it also compares and contrasts it with Lévi-Strauss’s oeuvre.
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Schlerath, Bernfried. 1995. Georges Dumézil und die Rekonstruktion der indogermanischen Kultur 1. Teil. Kratylos 40:1–48.
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Part one of his criticism of Dumézil’s model. See also Lincoln 1999 (cited in Modern Methods of Interpretation), who accuses Dumézil of fascist sympathies.
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Schlerath, Bernfried. 1996. Georges Dumézil und die Rekonstruktion der indogermanischen Kultur 2. Teil. Kratylos 41:1–67.
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Part two of his criticism of Dumézil’s model.
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Studies of Indo-European Religion

Haudry 1987 is a comprehensive study of Indo-European religion, often fascinating and engaging, even if its propositions sometimes seem outlandish. Puhvel 1987, also comprehensive, is more reliable. Both can be complemented by Jackson 2002, which offers a recent, short overview. Haudry 1989 and Sergent 1998 both study the Indo-European tradition in Greece, a particularly difficult case for Dumézilian analysis. Watkins 1995 richly traces the distribution among the Indo-European peoples of one single theme. West 2007, in spite of its size and the richness of its contents, is easy to use as a reference work, and is the best starting point for those interested in the field.

Haudry, Jean. 1987. La réligion cosmique des Indo-européens. Milan and Paris: Arche.
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Even if this book is somewhat speculative (as often happens in Indo-European matters), it is thought-provoking.
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Haudry, Jean. 1989. La tradition indoeuropéenne en Grèce. Bulletin d’Association Guillaume Budé 1989:42–55.
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Explores the echoes (always difficult to find) of Indo-European mythology among the Greeks.
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Jackson, Peter. 2002. Light from distant asterisks: Towards a description of the Indo-European religious heritage. Numen 49:61–102.
DOI: 10.1163/15685270252772777Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Recent overview of what has been reconstructed as the Indo-European pantheon. Most interesting are his good methodological recommendations for this type of reconstruction. Follows closely the methodology employed by linguists in the field.
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Nagy, Gregory. 1990. Greek mythology and poetics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. Press.
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This book contains much more than it is possible to indicate here, but the first two chapters in particular examine Greek myth and ritual in the light of their Indo-European background, and show how much Greek culture and poetry owe to it. Fascinating argumentation on many points, on which not all will agree.
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Puhvel, Jaan. 1987. Comparative mythology. Baltimore: John Hopkins Univ. Press.
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Shows strong Dumézilian influence, but makes ample use of linguistic evidence, aptly handled by the author, whose erudition is impressive. His interpretations are often fascinating. It is more illuminating for Roman myths than for Greek materials.
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Sergent, Bernard. 1998. Les trois fonctions indo-européennes en Grèce ancienne. 1, De Mycènes aux tragiques. Paris: Economica (Histoire).
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Dumézil was never able to demonstrate fully his “tripartite ideology” in the Greek context. This is what Sergent tries to do by studying systematically Archaic Greek poetry up until the 5th-century tragedians, and comparing it with other domains of Indo-European culture. His conclusions are not uniformly convincing but do lead the specialist to rethink some basic assumptions about Archaic Greece. A second planned volume will cover the classical prose writers.
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Watkins, Calvert. 1995. How to kill a dragon: Aspects of Indo-European poetics. New York and Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Traces the evolution among a host of Indo-European cultures of a model narrative (“hero kills dragon”) that is presumed to go back to the original Indo-European people. Very learned and reliable.
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West, M. L. 2007. Indo-European poetry and myth. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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This book is a gold mine of information and detailed scholarship. West, who has been a champion in the study of Near Eastern influences on Greek poetry and myth, here attempts to reconstruct the lore of poetry and myth shared by the Indo-European peoples. The author often expresses his personal views, and, without being antagonistic to Dumézil, makes little use of his work.
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Myth and Ritual

The denomination “myth and ritual school” is usually applied first of all to the “Cambridge ritualists,” a distinguished group of scholars who developed their work on Greek religion in the second half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th at Cambridge University; see the excellent selection of basic texts of the school in Segal 1998, and the clear exposition of their thesis in Ackerman 1991; Fontenrose 1966 is a classic criticism of their tenets. Second, it denotes a series of later scholars who have subscribed to the Cambridge ritualists’ proposition that there is a close connection between myth and ritual, and that the two are mutually interdependent. Burkert, probably the major authority on Greek religion since Nilsson, is of this group (see Burkert 1983 and Burkert 2001). Bremmer 2005 examines once again, at a theoretical level, the myth-and-rite pairing, while Dowden 1989 offers a practical application of the theory to a concrete complex of Greek myths and rituals.

Ackerman, Robert. 1991. The myth and ritual school: J. G. Frazer and the Cambridge Ritualists. New York and London: Garland.
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Describes, in a clear and effective way, the important contributions made by the proponents of this theory, sets them in their intellectual context, and highlights the theory’s merits. Interesting also for those working on the history of ideas.
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Bremmer, Jan Nicolaas. 2005. Myth and ritual in ancient Greece: Observations on a difficult relationship. In Griechische Mythologie und frühes Christentum. Edited by Raban von Haehling, 21–43. Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
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Good, recent, overview of the problematic relationship between these two concepts, by one of the most outspoken practitioners of the “myth and ritual” approach.
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Burkert, Walter. 1983. Homo necans: The anthropology of ancient Greek sacrificial ritual and myth. Translated by Peter Bing. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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Proposes that the practice of sacrifice and its related myths go back to Stone Age hunting culture, and restates the biological view of ritual, characteristic of this author. Translation of the German original, Homo necans: Interpretationen altgriechischer Opferriten und Mythen (Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 1972).
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Burkert, Walter. 2001. Savage energies: Lessons of myth and ritual in ancient Greece. Translated by Peter Bing. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
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Five articles that were epoch-making at the time of their original publication in the 1960s and 1970s (as the apt introduction by Most makes clear) are collected here in one handy volume. A good introduction for younger readers to the thought of this towering figure, even if some of his insights are by now somewhat dated. Translation of the German original, Wilder Ursprung: Opferritual und Mythos bei den Griechen (Berlin: Klaus Wagenbach, 1990).
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Dowden, Ken. 1989. Death and the maiden: Girl’s initiation rites in Greek mythology. London and New York: Routledge.
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Analyzes myths centered around Artemis and the parthenoi (virgins) on the basis of ritual practice. Dowden struggles to reconstruct the essence of these Bronze Age rites of passage, the girls’ initiations, from the distorted version of them preserved in myths. Not an easy book to read, and sometimes quite speculative, it nevertheless deserves attention.
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Fontenrose, Joseph. 1966. The ritual theory of myth. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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Presents sensible criticisms of the theory of myth and ritual. A classic reading.
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Segal, Robert A., ed. 1998. The myth and ritual theory: An anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
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Collection of articles by the main practitioners of this tendency, including Frazer, Harrison, and Murray. Fundamental; with an excellent introduction by the editor.
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Psychoanalysis

Although classicists have never completely integrated this approach, whether properly psychoanalytical or simply psychological, the many copies sold of, for example, Campbell 1949 testify to the popularity of such interpretations. Segal 1999 is a study of the ideology behind Campbell’s work. Psychoanalysis proper was applied to the Greek tradition especially by Kerényi, both in collaboration with Carl Jung (see Jung and Kerényi 1969), and on his own (see Kerényi 1975). His works are still readable and exemplify well the theory, which continues to attract some classical scholars. Schlesier and Sanchiño Martínez 2006 presents a generally balanced evaluation of Kerényi’s work. Caldwell 1989 offers a good example of the application of psychoanalysis to a myth complex. Devereux 1982 is a classic and excellent demonstration of this methodology, while Slater 1968 is centered on a paramount topic of psychoanalysis, family relationships. Finally, Merkur 2005 is one of the best introductions.

Caldwell, R. 1989. The origin of the gods: A psychoanalytic study of Greek theogonic myth. Oxford and New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Studies the Greek succession myth from the point of view of psychoanalysis. Even those with no previous familiarity with the terminology of this school will be able to follow the argument. There are some oddities, and the arguments may occasionally seem forced.
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Campbell, Joseph. 1949. The hero with a thousand faces. New York: Pantheon.
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Written under the influence of the Jungian circle of psychology, this book examines the archetype of the hero across world mythology. In spite of its many deficiencies, it provides a wealth of information and contains insights which are still stimulating. Frequently reprinted.
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Devereux, George. 1982. Femme et mythe. Paris: Flammarion.
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This exploration of mostly female figures in the light of Freudian psychology is representative of the work of its author, one of the best exponents of this tendency.
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Jung, Carl G., and Karl Kerényi. 1969. Essays on a science of mythology: The myth of the divine child and the mysteries of Eleusis. Translated by R. F. C. Hull. 2d ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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A classic introduction to the psychoanalytical study of myths from the archetypal perspective. Translation of the German original, Einführung in das Wesen der Mythologie (Amsterdam and Leipzig: Hakkert, 1941).
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Kerényi, Karl. 1975. Zeus and Hera: Archetypal image of father, husband, and wife. Translated by Christopher Holme. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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One of the most representative works of Kerényi, this can still be read with pleasure; it touches on some basic issues of psychoanalytic interpretation.
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Merkur, Daniel. 2005. Psychoanalytic approaches to myth: Freud and the Freudians. New York: Routledge.
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Although not specifically written for classics scholars (most examples are taken from other cultures), this short and very readable introduction to the application of psychoanalysis to myth is helpful for understanding the complexities of this school. Merkur, in addition, analyzes mythical language as metaphorical.
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Schlesier, Renate, and R. Sanchiño Martínez, eds. 2006. Neuhumanismus und Anthropologie des griechischen Mythos: Karl Kerényi im europäischen Kontext des 20. Jahrhunderts. Locarno, Switzerland: Rezzonico.
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A recent revaluation of Kerényi and his work.
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Segal, Robert A. 1999. Joseph Campbell as antisemite and as theorist of myth: A response to Maurice Friedman. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 67:461–467.
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A strong indictment (almost an ad hominem attack) on Campbell’s anti-Semitism. Interesting to read since it highlights the danger of personal ideologies inherent in work on religion and myths.
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Slater, Philip. 1968. The glory of Hera: Greek mythology and the Greek family. Boston: Beacon.
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One of the pioneering psychoanalytic studies of Greek myth. Slater finds in myths a reflection of the 5th-century Greek family, in particular of the relationship between mothers and their sons as the most important aspect.
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Structuralism

The structural analysis of myths was developed in particular by Claude Lévi-Strauss, who united influences both of the French school of sociology (Durkheim, Mauss, Gernet), and of the linguistic structuralism derived from Saussure and the Prague School. Its biggest impact and influence was on French writers, as the list in this section shows. Nevertheless, the so-called Paris school (its supposed members deny having ever been a “school”) has found followers also in other countries. One could hardly overstate the influence of this school on the past thirty years of research on myth, even if more recently the New Historicism has called into question a certain lack of concern for chronology inherent in many structuralist studies. Gordon 1981 is the classic introduction to the school in English. Lévi-Strauss 1979 is one of the most representative and most cited works by the founder of this school, while Detienne 1994 is one of its best applications to Greek myth. Detienne and Vernant 1978 is a masterpiece and delightful to read. Vernant 1983, Vernant 1988, Vernant 1989 and Vidal-Naquet 1986 cover different topics and exemplify the extraordinary results obtained by the application of anthropology to the study of Greek history, values, and myths. Vernant and Vidal-Naquet 1988 offers eye-opening studies of Greek tragedy that constitute a different way to read these texts.

Detienne, Marcel. 1994. The gardens of Adonis: Spices in Greek mythology. Translated by Janet Lloyd. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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Detienne studies spices in myth, especially in connection with the figure of Adonis, and contrasts spices and other herbs in the pairs of oppositions characteristic of structuralism. One of the best and purest examples of this methodology applied to Greek myth. Translation of the French original, Les jardins d’Adonis: La mythologie des aromates en Grèce (Paris: Gallimard, 1972).
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Detienne, Marcel, and Jean-Pierre Vernant. 1978. Cunning intelligence in Greek culture and society. Translated by Janet Lloyd. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press.
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Epoch-making study of the Greek metis (“crooked intelligence,” “shrewdness”), which illuminated our understanding of Greek culture and myth and showed a new way to engage with ancient texts and their contexts. Translation of the French original, Les ruses de l’intelligence: La métis des Grecs (2d edition, Paris: Flammarion, 1978).
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Gordon, Richard L., ed. 1981. Myth, religion, and society. Structuralist essays. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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Collection of articles of structuralist orientation by Marcel Detienne, Louis Gernet, Jean-Pierre Vernant, and Pierre Vidal-Naquet. One of the first volumes in English to present an excellent sample of the French structuralist school. A classic.
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Lévi-Strauss, Claude. 1979. Myth and meaning. New York: Schocken.
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Still one of the best introductions to the thought of this prominent scholar.
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Vernant, Jean-Pierre. 1983. Myth and thought among the Greeks. Translated by Janet Lloyd with Jeff Fort. London and Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
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Collection of essays examining a variety of connections between myth and time, space, and the like in Greek thought in order to reconstruct the specific traits of personality that characterized the ancient Greeks. This “historical psychology” allows the author to extract larger conclusions about Greek civilization—for example, that the lack of technological development among the Greeks was due mostly to their prejudice against technology. Translation of the French original, Mythe et pensée chez les Grecs: Études de psychologie historique (Paris: Maspero, 1965).
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Vernant, Jean-Pierre. 1988. Myth and society in ancient Greece. Translated by Janet Lloyd. New York: Zone.
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Vernant explores important institutions of Greek society as revealed in its myths, from class struggle and slavery to war and marriage, the society of the gods, the concepts of pure and impure, and the cosmological status of man, located between beasts and gods. The final chapter (“The reason of myth”) offers a critical review of various modern approaches to the study of myth (comparativism, historicism, symbolism, functionalism) and expounds Vernant’s view of myths as being “an institutionalized system of symbols” and the prominent role they play in human society as “ways of organizing experience.” One of this author’s masterpieces. Translation of the French original, Mythe et société en Grèce ancienne (Paris: Maspero, 1974).
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Vernant, Jean-Pierre. 1989. L’individu, la mort, l’amour: Soi-meme et l’autre en Grèce ancienne. Paris: Gallimard.
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Four essays on the representation of these important topics in Greek culture and myths, in particular how the individual is defined in relation to the Other, be it the gods or the amorous interlocutor, and also how that individuality is lost in death. As usual with this author’s work, these essays are thought-provoking and elegantly presented.
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Vernant, Jean-Pierre, and Pierre Vidal-Naquet. 1988. Myth and tragedy in ancient Greece. Translated by Janet Lloyd. New York: Zone.
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This collection of seventeen essays (previously published in two volumes) on myth in tragedy, the genre that best reflects the democratic ideology of Athens, analyzes tragic texts and their myths in their historical and social context. The proposed interpretations of, most importantly, the myth of Oedipus, but also of Sophocles’s Philoctetes and Aeschylus’s Oresteia and Seven against Thebes, produced a critical revolution at the time of their publication. The illuminating insights into the meaning of the tragic hero, the importance of human will, and the role of the gods make these studies indispensable for those interested not only in tragedy or myth, but also in the mental constructs of 5th-century Athenians. Translation of the French original, Mythe et tragédie en Grèce ancienne (Paris: Maspero, 1972–1986).
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Vidal-Naquet, Pierre. 1986. The black hunter: Forms of thought and forms of society in the Greek world. Translated by Andrew Szegedy-Maszak. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
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Another excellent example of structuralist method applied to the elucidation of Greek culture. Some of the essays in this collection also appear in Vernant and Vidal-Naquet 1988 or were previously published elsewhere, but together they give a good overview of Vidal-Naquet’s insights, especially on ephebic warrior institutions. Students should be cautioned that some of these ideas are rather speculative. Translation of the French original, Le chasseur noir: Formes de pensées et formes de société dans le monde grec (Paris: La Découverte/Maspero, 1983).
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School of Rome

Although it has been less influential (especially on scholarship in English) than the French structuralist approach, the “School of Rome” has produced a series of works with lasting importance for our understanding of classical myths. From the end of World War II through the 1950s, several scholars, beginning with Pettazzoni (see Pettazzoni 1948–1963, one of his major contributions), developed a common project to study religion from a neutral or ideologically aloof perspective—not always easy, especially in Catholic Italy. Angelo Brelich, one of the major exponents of the school, and his disciples have made very important contributions to the field of classical mythology; Brelich was, for example, interested in rituals of initiation long before they became a popular subject (see Brelich 1958 and Brelich 1969). In fact, his historical and ideologically impartial approach has been making a comeback in recent years. Arrigoni 2003 gives an overview of Brelich’s work, recently reedited, while Massenzio 2005 highlights the contributions of this school to the study of religion. Brelich 1958 is a classic example of his views. Lancelotti and Xella 2005 exemplify the imprint left by Brelich on younger scholars. Sabbatucci and Piccaluga are two of the best-known disciples and continuators of the school (see Sabbatucci 1998–, Sabbatucci 2006, and Piccaluga 1968).

Arrigoni, Giampiera. 2003. Il ritorno di Angelo Brelich. Mythos 11:3–8.
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Describes the ongoing reedition by Paolo Xella of Brelich’s works (Rome: Editori Reuniti).
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Brelich, Angelo. 1958. Gli eroi greci: Un problema storico-religioso. Rome: Ateneo.
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This seminal work offers extensive analyses of heroic characteristics, with ample comparative evidence. It also shows well Brelich’s theoretical understanding of myths and rituals. In spite of its date, it is still enjoyable.
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Brelich, Angelo. 1969. Paides e parthenoi. Rome: Ateneo.
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Brelich was a pioneer in calling attention to the many myths and rituals dealing with the initiation of the young in Greece, a subject that became a central interest of scholars in the thirty years after Brelich’s publications. Brelich studies the initiation of boys at Sparta, the girls’ transition rituals in Athens, and rituals in many other parts of Greece. One of his tenets is that these primitive rituals became in time attached to the cult of major divinities such as Athena or Artemis. Brelich is at his best when dealing with the literary evidence, while his handling of historical and archaeological data is much less reliable. Even so, his ideas and brilliant style are inspiring and worth reading.
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Lancellotti, Maria Grazia, and Paolo Xella, eds. 2005. Angelo Brelich e la storia delle religioni: Temi, problemi e prospettive: atti del Convegno di Roma, C.N.R. (3-4 dicembre 2002). Verona, Italy: Essedue.
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Proceedings of the meeting in commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Brelich’s death. The diverse contributions attest to Brelich’s influence on the profession, both in the subjects treated in these papers and in their methodology and approach.
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Massenzio, Marcello. 2005. The Italian school of “history of religions.” Religion 35:209–222.
DOI: 10.1016/j.religion.2005.10.007Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Describes the intellectual project of the “School of Rome” and highlights its contributions to the study of religions. For specialists.
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Pettazzoni, Raffaele. 1948–1963. Mitti e leggende. 4 vols. Turin, Italy: Unione tipografico-editrice torinese.
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This is a monumental work, produced by Pettazzoni and a team of collaborators, with the ambitious project of collecting, briefly presenting, and analyzing myths, legends, and folk stories from around the world, in Italian translation. The aim of the work was to reach the educated reader who does not have access to the specialized literature on these matters. Under the expert guidance of Pettazzoni, the work was largely successful. In spite of its date, it still provides a handy and extensive catalogue of materials.
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Piccaluga, Giulia. 1968. Lykaon: Un tema mitico. Rome: Ateneo.
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A classic for its insights and its knowledge of comparative materials, this book is about a myth complex reflected in the story of Lycaon, which connects this figure with other myths. Here, as in other of her works, the author is not always sufficiently critical of her sources.
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Sabbatucci, Dario. 1998–. Politeismo. 4 vols. Rome: Bulzoni.
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Monumental study of polytheistic systems. The first volume deals with Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and Egypt.
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Sabbatucci, Dario. 2006. Il misticismo greco. 2d ed. Turin, Italy: Bollati Boringhieri.
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Interesting study of Greek mysticism, even if it poses more questions than it answers. The conclusions may not be convincing, but the interpretations of the evidence are still appealing. First published as Saggio sul misticismo greco (Rome: Ateneo, 1965).
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Studies on Women and Gender in Myths

Feminist studies have become an important subfield in the classics in the past thirty years and have also made notable contributions to the study of myths, from works which indicate the representation and roles of women in ancient texts (Lefkowitz 2007, Cahill 1995) to more theoretical studies (Blok 1995, Doherty 2001, DuBois 1982, Loraux 1995), and others that concentrate on the ritual aspects of women’s lives (Dowden 1990, Sourvinou-Inwood 1988). From feminist studies developed the more general and equally productive field of gender studies, including homosexuality, which was as central to myth as it was to Greek life (a good example is Sergent 1986).

Blok, Josine H. 1995. The early Amazons: Modern and ancient perspectives on a persistent myth. Religions in the Graeco-Roman World 120. Leiden, The Netherlands, and New York: Brill.
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In this study of the myth of the Amazons in modern historiography from the mid-19th century on, and in Greek testimonia (both textual and visual) up to the end of the Archaic period, Blok reveals the curious fascination exerted by these fabulous figures. Their contradictory status as women warriors compels (or justifies?) in the Greek context their constant representation as a radical Other (like barbarians). This is a rich book, interesting also for gender and ideology studies.
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Cahill, Jane. 1995. Her kind: Stories of women from Greek mythology. Peterborough, ON, and Orchard Park, NY: Broadview.
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Good retelling of the myths from a 20th-century feminist perspective, for a general audience.
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Doherty, Lillian. 2001. Gender and the interpretation of classical myth. London: Duckworth.
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Studies the role of mythology in the Western tradition and its relations to gender systems. Although its theoretical sophistication recommends it to the specialist, its clear writing makes this book suitable also for a larger audience and undergraduate students, for whom it provides a good introduction to theories of myth and to gender studies.
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Dowden, Ken. 1990. Death and the maiden: Girl’s initiation rites in Greek mythology. London and New York: Routledge.
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Analyzes myths centered around Artemis and the parthenoi (virgins) on the basis of ritual practice. Dowden struggles to reconstruct the essence of these Bronze Age rites of passage, the girls’ initiations, from the distorted version of them preserved in myths. Not an easy book to read, and sometimes quite speculative, it nevertheless deserves attention.
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DuBois, Page. 1982. Centaurs and Amazons: Women in the prehistory of the great chain of being. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press.
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Puts forth the idea that a paradigm shift took place in Athenian thinking from the 5th to the 4th century BCE. Irreconcilable polarities (male/female, human/animal, Greek/barbarian), personified by Amazons and centaurs, were in the 4th century organized in a hierarchical way. The myths of these liminal creatures are profusely used by Athenians in texts and monuments as a means of self-definition.
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Lefkowitz, Mary R. 2007. Women in Greek myth. 2d ed. London: Duckworth.
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Study of the representation of women in myth, from a nonorthodox feminist perspective. Against the commonly repeated thesis that an early state of matriarchy had been repressed and eliminated by the implantation of patriarchy, and against many studies of ancient women that highlight the most negative aspects of their lives, Lefkowitz, through a detailed reevaluation of the sources, offers a more positive view of women’s role in society and their relationships with men.
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Loraux, Nicole. 1995. The experiences of Tiresias: The feminine and the Greek man. Translated by Paula Wissing. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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This book is more about the male conception of gender than about myths. Nevertheless, there are important considerations regarding the value attached by Athenians to Athena, Aphrodite, and other relevant female figures of myth. Loraux’s style is not an easy one, but her thinking is always stimulating.
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Sergent, Bernard. 1986. Homosexuality in Greek myth. Translated by Arthur Goldhammer. Boston: Beacon.
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Includes an original application of Dumézil’s views to Greek myth; argues for the antiquity of pederasty as an institution, in opposition to scholars who would date its introduction to the Archaic or even Classical period of Greece.
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Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane. 1988. Studies in girls’ transitions: Aspects of the Arkteia and age representation in Attic iconography. Athens, Greece: Kardamitsa.
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Pioneering work in its demonstration that texts and images need to be considered together if we are to understand the relevance and meaning of myths and rituals for the ancients (in this case, the ritual of Athenian girls’ transition into adulthood at the Arkteia in Brauron). For specialists.
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Studies on Individual Figures and Themes

Since it is impossible to select among all the titles that are relevant for the study of each of the figures and topics of Greek myth, the present list considers, for gods and heroes, only publications from around 1995 to the present. Precedence is generally given to the more recent works, since they will guide the reader to previous scholarship.

Major Divinities

It is impossible here to collect all the studies of the major gods (even within recent years), and the reader is advised to consult recent bibliographies and handbooks. Not every major divine figure has received a recent comprehensive treatment. A new series by Routledge (see Dowden 2006, Deacy 2008, Dougherty 2005, Graf 2008, and Seaford 2006), which gives up-to-date overviews of each Greek and Roman god and hero, intends to fill that void. The volumes published so far are nicely edited, very informative, and at the same time readable, and of very high scholarly quality, even though there are important differences among them: for example, Deacy includes more visual materials, and Seaford’s further reading is insufficient. Deacy and Villing 2001 has the merit of offering views of Athena not limited to her Greek and Roman representations. Haussler 1995 is an in-depth study for the specialist with the advantage of contrasting Greek and Roman materials. Pirenne-Delforge 1994 is so far the best comprehensive study of Aphrodite, for advanced students and scholars. Capdeville 1995 presents an innovative view of Vulcanus, which can be representative of new ways to analyze Roman gods.

Capdeville, Gérard. 1995. Volcanus: Recherches comparatistes sur les origines du culte de Vulcain. Rome: École Française de Rome.
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Against Wissowa’s and Dumézil’s view of this god as representing destructive fire, Capdeville affirms that Volcanus had a strong positive component and was connected to sovereignty. Most of his affirmations, though, remain undemonstrable.
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Deacy, Susan. 2008. Athena. Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. London and New York: Routledge.
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Deacy pays more attention to material evidence than do other books in this series, and her compact presentation of Athena is a very useful introduction to the cult, myths, significance, and later survival of the goddess.
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Deacy, Susan, and Alexandra Claudia Villing, eds. 2001. Athena in the classical world. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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Collected papers (some very good, such as Fritz Graf’s study of the relation between Athena and Minerva) examine different aspects of Athena (myth, cult, artistic representations, connections to cultures outside Greece, etc.). This is a book to be used by specialists, who will appreciate its virtues while being aware of some infelicities and improbabilities.
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Dougherty, Carol. 2005. Prometheus. Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. London and New York: Routledge.
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There was no previous overview of Prometheus, and thus this short book is a timely publication. The author traces the history of this myth in antiquity and beyond, and its long-lasting impact, which has engendered a multiplicity of readings (Prometheus as savior of humankind, as political rebel, etc.). An excellent starting point for further research on the subject.
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Dowden, Ken. 2006. Zeus. Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. London and New York: Routledge.
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In spite of its brevity, this introduction accomplishes a lot. Not only does Dowden concentrate on the cult of Zeus, he also provides the reader with ample mythological information about his rich subject. His careful presentation and analysis of the previous large bibliography makes this book a good introduction even to the study of ancient religion. Good illustrations add to its appeal.
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Graf, Fritz. 2008. Apollo. Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. London and New York: Routledge.
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This is an up-to-date and brief overview of the origins and functions of this important divine figure, including modern interpretations. Intelligently written by one of the best specialists in the field, it is presented in a way that will appeal to the general reader in addition to the specialist.
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Häussler, Reinhard. 1995. Hera und Juno: Wandlungen und Beharrung einer Göttin. Schriften der Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft an der Johan-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Geisteswissenschaftliche Reihe 10. Wiesbaden, Germany: Steiner.
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Comprehensive study for the specialist, with the advantage of treating both the Greek Hera and her Roman counterpart. It highlights the changes of this deity over time and under varying social and political circumstances, even as she manifests a certain lasting continuity.
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Pirenne-Delforge, Vinciane. 1994. L’Aphrodite grecque: Contribution à l’étude de ses cultes et de sa personnalité dans le panthéon archaïque et classique. Kernos Supplément 4. Athens, Greece, and Liège, Belgium: Centre International d’Étude de la Religion Grecque Antique.
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An extraordinary piece of work, this learned study of Aphrodite, which examines the cultic, political, and social significance of the goddess, is informative for Hellenists in general, not only for those interested in mythology and religion.
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Seaford, Richard. 2006. Dionysos. Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. London and New York: Routledge.
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In this rich and compact view of this complex god, Seaford examines all aspects of Dionysos’ personality and cult, their relevance for the city, and their afterlife in Western culture. Not everyone will agree with some personal views of the author, but all will profit from the fascinating ways in which Seaford relates the ancient Dionysiac cult to our contemporary experience.
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Minor Divinities

Minor divinities have received more and more attention in the past few years. Here are included only some representative works. Bettini and Spina 2007 is an entertaining book, a piece of literature in its own right, addressed to a large audience, while Brewster 1997 is a detailed treatment of the river gods and an excellent reference work. Larson 2001’s treatment of nymphs, an extensive, in-depth study of these charming divinities, provides a reader-friendly style that makes it accessible for less advanced students. There are several recent studies of personifications as figures of cult and myth. Anyone interested in the subject needs to start from Stafford 2000, a substantial piece of scholarship but easy to use, and complement it with Stafford and Herrin 2005, which offers a broader perspective not limited to Greece.

Bettini, Maurizio, and Luigi Spina. 2007. Il mito delle Sirene: Immagini e racconti dalla Grecia a oggi. Turin, Italy: Einaudi.
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This literary retelling of the myth of the Sirens, a new version created by Bettini, will startle (as well as charm) more than one reader. According to the format of this series, the study by Spina follows the telling of the myth, in which he presents, in a rather personal style, literary in its own right, a sort of “life of the Sirens,” conflating different sources without regard to their relative chronology. The book contains many scholarly references but lacks in the systematic quality expected of academic books.
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Brewster, Harry. 1997. The river gods of Greece: Myths and mountain waters in the Hellenic world. London: I. B. Tauris.
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A serious and compact overview of rivers in Greece, with their mythological histories. It has good pictures too.
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Larson, Jennifer. 2001. Greek nymphs: Myth, cult, lore. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Excellent treatment of these minor divine figures, which uses both literary and archaeological evidence; this book is both informative and appealing.
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Stafford, Emma. 2000. Worshipping virtues: Personification and the divine in ancient Greece. London: Duckworth and Classical Press of Wales.
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Study of the cult and mythology of six personified concepts: Themis, Nemesis, Peitho, Hygeia, Eirene, and Eleos.
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Stafford, Emma, and Judith Herrin. 2005. Personification in the Greek world: From Antiquity to Byzantium. Publications (Centre for Hellenic Studies, King’s College London) 7. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.
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This conference on personification gathered an excellent group of scholars who study personification from Homer and Hesiod to the Byzantine Empire, including Near Eastern parallels and some very good papers on Roman materials, in literary texts and visual evidence.
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Mother of the Gods and Other Imports

There has been great interest in this divine female figure in recent times, as the number of books dealing with the subject published in the past ten years shows, and this justifies this subsection. Borgeaud 2004 and Roller 1999 together constitute a very complete overview of the topic. Munn 2006, although centered on the topic of the mother of the gods, has a larger purpose and scope. Merkelbach 1995 is not specifically about the mother of the gods, but its extensive treatment of Isis and her connections to Demeter and others make it a must for advanced scholars. The specialist should also consult Lane 1996, although most papers in it are about cult and not myth.

Borgeaud, Philippe. 2004. Mother of the gods: From Cybele to the Virgin Mary. Translated by Lysa Hochroth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
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This crisp book packs in a lot of information about the myths and functions of the “goddess” and offers interesting, even provocative, analyses of them within a rich theoretical background. It makes little use of the archaeological and visual evidence provided by Roller 1999. Translation of the French original, La mère des dieux: De Cybele à la Vierge Marie (Paris: de Seuilm 1996).
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Lane, Eugene N., ed. 1996. Cybele, Attis and related cults: Essays in memory of M. J. Vermaseren. Religions in the Greco-Roman World 131. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
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This collection presents a variety of perspectives on the cult of Cybele for specialists in religion, although some contributions are also interesting for the study of myth, especially Noel Robertson’s long paper in which he examines the cults and myths of Cybele and argues that the goddess was a pastoral deity existing simultaneously in Greece and Anatolia before the historical period (against those who understand her as an import; see Borgeaud 2004, Roller 1999, and Munn 2006).
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Merkelbach, Reinhold. 1995. Isis Regina, Zeus Sarapis: Die griechisch-aegyptische Religion nach den Quellen dargestellt. Stuttgart and Leipzig, Germany: Teubner.
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An extraordinary effort to collect all the evidence (not only textual, but also epigraphical and visual) on the presence and influence of Egyptian cults in Greek religion. The author’s bold views will stimulate readers to think harder and further about the problems raised. Gaps in coverage remain, however, and this book does not replace F. Solmsen’s Isis among the Greeks and Romans (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1980) as an introduction into the subject.
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Munn, Mark. 2006. The mother of the gods, Athens, and the tyranny of Asia: A study of sovereignty in ancient religion. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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An interesting and learned attempt to show that the figure of “the mother” or “the mother goddess” in Greece is an import from Lydia. The author makes many new claims about the development of Greek history and religion in the Archaic period. Although more relevant for students of religion than of mythology, it is also of interest to the latter.
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Roller, Lynn E. 1999. In search of God the mother: The cult of Anatolian Cybele. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
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This excellent book traces the Phrygian origins of the goddess, her incorporation into the Greek pantheon, and her subsequent role in Roman religion. Roller asks all the right questions about this figure (In what sense is she a mother? Why such a powerful female in societies where women’s status was lower than that of males?) and provides sensible answers to them. Excellent presentation and analysis of archaeological and epigraphical evidence.
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Heroes and Heroines

Heroic figures and their cults have been a favorite subject of research in the past few years, as numerous recent publications attest. Thus, this section presents some general treatments of the heroes as a group, or collective works that deal with a variety of issues regarding heroes. Listed in this section are some classic studies of the hero figure, some edited with new materials (see Segal 1990), and proceedings of professional meetings (see Pirenne-Delforges and Suárez de la Torre 2000). Although these are recent overviews, Brelich 1958 is still useful. Larson 1995 is a detailed presentation of heroine cults, complemented by the study of heroine myths in Lyons 1997. Pache 2004 deals with an understudied subject: babies and children who received cult as heroes.

Brelich, Angelo. 1958. Gli eroi greci: Un problema storico-religioso. Rome: Ateneo.
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This seminal work by Brelich offers extensive analyses of heroic characteristics, with ample comparative evidence. It also shows well Brelich’s theoretical understanding of myths and rituals. In spite of its date, it is still enjoyable.
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Larson, Jennifer. 1995. Greek heroine cults. Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press.
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Comprehensive study of heroines who received cult; therefore those whom we know only through myth are not considered. This is an important work for the specialist, which takes into account the archaeological evidence of cult, in addition to the information provided by the texts.
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Lyons, Deborah. 1997. Gender and immortality: Heroines in ancient Greek myth and cult. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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This book, which concentrates on the role played by heroines in myth, especially their particular relationship to immortality and their generally antagonistic relationship with goddesses, nicely complements Larson 1995.
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Pache, Corinne. 2004. Baby and child heroes in ancient Greece. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.
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Readable study of the often neglected children and even babies who received heroic treatment. Good use of evidence from literature, vase painting, and archaeology.
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Pirenne-Delforge, Vinciane, and Emilio Suárez de la Torre, eds. 2000. Héros et héroïnes dans les mythes et les cultes grecs: Actes du Colloque organisé à l’Université de Valladolid du 26au 29 mai 1999. Liège, Belgium: Centre International d’Étude de la Religion Grecque Antique.
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Good overview of the various facets of heroes. The diverse contributions examine most aspects of Greek heroes in a variety of genres and historical environments; some concentrate on their political significance and religious dimensions.
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Segal, Robert, ed. 1990. In quest of the hero: Otto Rank, Lord Raglan, and Alan Dundes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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New edition of two classics of the study of heroes by Rank and Raglan, with an application by Dundes of hero theories to the life of Jesus. The intelligent introduction by Segal makes this volume an excellent starting point for the study of heroes.
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Individual Heroic Figures

Here we present a few works on specific heroes. Priority has been given to the most recent titles. Bettini and Pellizer 2003, like Edmunds 2006 and Ogden 2008, in spite of being directed to the general public, are of interest also to scholars, since they are high-quality treatments. Wilk 2000 offers a comparative perspective in his study of Perseus. Wiseman 1995 is one of the best studies of Roman myth in general. The excellent piece by Ogden 2004 exemplifies how much work is still to be done with minor heroic figures.

Bettini, Maurizio, and Ezio Pellizer. 2003. Il mito di Narciso: Immagini e racconti dalla Grecia a oggi. Turin, Italy: Einaudi.
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According to the format of the series, this volume begins with a literary recreation by Bettini of Narcissus (in this case, in the form of a long letter written by Narcissus himself to Echo), followed by a learned and detailed study of the development and versions of the myth from Antiquity on, by Pellizer, and a selection of images to illustrate it. Although a general audience is targeted, specialists will also enjoy this excellent overview and its rich bibliography.
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Edmunds, Lowell. 2006. Oedipus. Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. London and New York: Routledge.
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Well-presented overview of this intriguing figure, whose popularity in the ancient world in both myth and cult is matched by his enduring afterlife in later literature and art. Edmunds’s clear style makes this book a good read for wider audiences, while it will also hold specialists’ interest.
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Ogden, Daniel. 2004. Aristomenes of Messene: Legends of Sparta’s nemesis. Swansea: Classical Press of Wales.
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This entertaining study of Aristomenes is a welcome addition to the scholarship on heroes, in which there are still few comprehensive studies of minor and semihistorical heroic figures.
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Ogden, Daniel. 2008. Perseus. Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. London and New York: Routledge.
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Although this series is intended for the general reader, Ogden has collected so much detailed information in the original sources that his book will also be read by specialists. Particularly interesting is the comparative evidence he adduces in an attempt to understand the meaning and function of this hero.
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Wilk, Stephen R. 2000. Medusa: Solving the mystery of the Gorgon. Oxford and New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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On the myth of Medusa and the hero Perseus, with parallels from world mythologies.
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Wiseman, T. P. 1995. Remus: A Roman myth. Cambridge, UK and New York: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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Wiseman’s thesis is that the myth of Remus was created in a period of about twenty years at the end of the 4th century BCE, and that it reflects the political strife between patricians and plebeians at that time. Even if this political explanation of the myth and its dating is difficult to accept, the wealth of knowledge about early Roman history and myth, and the clarity of argumentation of this book, make it profitable for students and professionals alike.
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Helen of Troy

Austin 1994 is a fascinating and imaginative book, addressed to scholars; so is Bettini and Brillante 2002, which has a larger audience as its target and is more a work of literature. Gumpert 2001 studies the later tradition of the myth, while Meagher 1995 contributes a feminist reading.

Austin, Norman. 1994. Helen of Troy and her shameless phantom. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. Press.
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Explores the myth of Helen in Homer (Iliad and Odyssey) and other texts (Sappho) but mainly in Stesichorus’s Palinode, which exculpates Helen from any charges of adultery by explaining that what Paris took with him to Troy was a phantom and not the real Helen. It has been very influential, in part owing to the knowledge, wit, and imagination displayed by the author. Anyone writing on Helen needs to take it into account.
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Bettini, Maurizio, and Carlo Brillante. 2002. Il mito di Elena: Immagini e racconti dalla Grecia a oggi. Turin, Italy: Einaudi.
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A literary reconstruction of the myth of Helen by Bettini is followed by a learned and carefully written study on it by Brillante. As the format of the series requires, the volume also includes a chapter on the later tradition of the myth and visual representations of it. This fascinating book can appeal to a wide audience as well as to the specialist.
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Gumpert, Matthew. 2001. Grafting Helen: The abduction of the classical past. Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press.
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On the myth of Helen in Antiquity and its importance in later tradition as a symbol of the past. Learned and informative, though the theoretical jargon occasionally makes reading this book difficult.
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Meagher, Robert Emmet. 1995. Helen: Myth, legend, and the culture of misogyny. New York: Continuum.
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Studies Helen as the representation of woman, and as such a privileged case for the study of misogyny; a carefully researched and well-written study of interest to both specialists and a larger readership.
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Heracles

The bibliography on Heracles is almost unmanageable. This is a figure of immense complexity, with numerous manifestations and parallels throughout the Mediterranean region. Several conferences in recent years have been devoted to different aspects of this hero. Listed here are some representative titles. Bernardini and Zucca 2005 is centered on the western Mediterranean manifestations of the hero; Jourdain-Annequin and Bonnet 1996 studies his relationships to women; and Jourdain-Annequin, et al. 1998 examines his connections to animals.

Bernardini, Paolo, and Raimondo Zucca, eds. 2005. Il Mediterraneo di Herakles: Studi e ricerche. Rome: Carocci.
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Includes the various contributions to a colloquium held in 2004 on the figure of Heracles, especially in the western Mediterranean, and its connections with the Phoenician hero Melqart.
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Jourdain-Annequin, Colette, and Corinne Bonnet, eds. 1996. IIe rencontre héracléenne: Héraclès, les femmes et le féminin. Actes du colloque de Grenoble, Université des Sciences sociales (Grenoble II), 22–23 octobre 1992. Études de philologie, d’archéologie et d’histoire anciennes, Institut Historique Belge de Rome 31. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols.
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An important set of articles (in Italian and French) on different aspects of Heracles and especially on his close connections with female figures, both mortal women and goddesses. Some of the papers are fascinating, moving with ease from representations of Heracles in texts and images of diverse periods and locations to the various historical interpretations of this hero and his cults.
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Jourdain-Annequin, Colette, Corinne Bonnet, and Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, eds. 1998. Le bestiaire d’Héraclès: IIIe rencontre héracléenne: actes du colloque organisé à l’Université de Liège et aux Facultés Universitaires Notre Dame de la Paix de Namur, du 14 au 16 novembre 1996. Kernos Supplément 7. Liège, Belgium: Centre International d’Étude de la Religion Grecque Antique.
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Another collection of papers (in German, English, French and Italian) on the inexhaustible figure of Heracles, this time examining his connections with animals. Some papers insist on Near Eastern parallels (Walter Burkert), while others underline Heracles’s Indo-European origins (B. Sergent), but all make interesting contributions.
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Medea

Medea is a mythological character who has received great critical attention in recent years, particularly on the later tradition. The many works devoted to her testify to her popularity. Griffiths 2005 is the best up-to-date overview and an excellent starting point for further research. Clauss and Johnston 1997 and Kammerer, et al. 1998 are the best starting points for the study of Medea’s later tradition in a variety of fields, while the special issue of Pallas (Centre de recherches appliquées au théâtre antique 1996) treats in particular her literary reincarnations, and Hall, et al. 2000 her modern reception in the stage. The most interesting contribution, of Gentili and Perusino 2000, is on Medea’s reception in film. Finally, López and Pociña 2002 is quite complete in its examination of almost all versions of Medea’s myth.

Centre de recherches appliquées au théâtre antique. 1996. Médée et la violence: Colloque international organisé à l’Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail les 28, 29 et 30 mars 1996. Pallas special issue 45. Toulouse, France: Presses Universitaires du Mirail.
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This special issue of the journal Pallas includes contributions representing various interpretive tendencies on the figure of Medea, although most of the articles treat her representation in literature, rather than the myth as such.
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Clauss, James J., and Sarah Iles Johnston, eds. 1997. Medea: Essays on Medea in myth, literature, philosophy, and art. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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There is much to be learned here about the Medea myth, its literary treatment over time, its representation in the plastic arts, its use by philosophers, and its modern reappearances on the stage. Nevertheless, the four contributions that deal properly with the myth, although informative, are the less convincing of the collection in their conclusions.
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Gentili, Bruno, and Franca Perusino, eds. 2000. Medea nella letteratura e nell’ arte. Venice: Marsilio.
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Although it has some useful contributions, such as a chapter on the reception of Medea in film, this does not offer much that cannot be found in the other recent books about Medea.
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Griffiths, Emma. 2005. Medea. Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World. London and New York: Routledge.
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Compact and rich overview of this multifaceted heroine in ancient texts, cults, and images, and in later European traditions. It includes intelligent analyses of current scholarship on Medea, a good bibliography, and suggestions for further reading.
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Hall, Edith, Fiona MacIntosh, and Oliver Taplin. 2000. Medea in performance, 1500–2000. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Very useful for those interested in the myth’s modern reception, particularly on the stage.
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Kammerer, Annette, Margret Schuchard, and Agnes Speck, eds. 1998. Medeas Wandlungen: Studien zu einem Mythos in Kunst und Wissenschaft. Heidelberg, Germany: Mattes.
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This book is about the “transformations” of this mythological figure through history. Different chapters examine, among other subjects, the reinterpretations of Medea in Latin texts, her representations in ancient art, her presence in German book illuminations, in the London theater, and in the history of opera. One chapter discusses the use of Medea in clinical psychoanalysis.
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López, Aurora, and Andrés Pociña, eds. 2002. Medeas: Versiones de un mito desde Grecia hasta hoy. 2 vols. Biblioteca de humanidades, Estudios clásicos 14. Granada, Spain: Universidad de Granada.
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This collective work examines all versions of the Medea myth in Greek and Latin texts, and later European traditions. It covers a lot of territory. Contributions are mostly by Spanish and Latin American scholars, with some in Italian and French.
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Orpheus

Guidorizzi and Melotti 2005 is the most recent and complete overview of the myth. Calame, et al. 2002 offers a good critical review of recent studies. The treatment of the myth of Orpheus is practically inseparable from the religious sect we call Orphism, as can be seen in Borgeaud 1991. Graf and Johnston 2007 is an extraordinary resource for scholars and advanced students.

Borgeaud, Philippe, ed. 1991. Orphism et Orphée: En l’honneur de Jean Rudhardt. Geneva, Switzerland: Librairie Droz.
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A rich book that, in its many contributions by different authors, offers a fairly complete survey of Orphism, considering the myths about Orpheus as well as the cultic aspects of the sect.
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Calame, Claude, Philippe Borgeaud, and André Hurst. 2002. L’orphisme et ses écritures: Nouvelles recherches: Présentation. Revue de l’Histoire des Religions 219:379–383.
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Crisp and learned overview of recent studies on the figure of Orpheus, the Orphic texts, and associated cults.
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Graf, Fritz, and Sarah Iles Johnston. 2007. Ritual texts for the afterlife: Orpheus and the Bacchic gold tablets. London and New York: Routledge.
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Detailed study of the so-called Orphic gold tablets, which reflect the beliefs of the initiate into the mysteries of Dionysos-Bacchus. The authors carefully present these fascinating documents (translated here for the first time into English), and analyze the myths regarding Orpheus and Dionysos that emerge from them. A fundamental tool for the specialist in the study of ancient eschatology and religion.
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Guidorizzi, Giulio, and Marxiano Melotti, eds. 2005. Orfeo e le sue metamorfosi. Quaderni del DAMS di Torino 4. Rome: Carocci.
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With diverse contributions by different authors, many of them authorities in the field, this book gives an ample perspective on the myths of Orpheus and their evolution over time, including their representation in psychoanalysis and film. It also contains papers about the Orphic sources, more precisely the Derveni papyrus and the theogony and cosmogony it presents.
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Segal, Charles. 1989. Orpheus: The myth of the poet. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.
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Several essays written at different times examine the myth of Orpheus in literary texts (mostly Virgil and Ovid) as the myth par excellence relating to the art of poetry.
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Theseus

Of the three titles listed here, Calame 1996 is the most directly concerned with the myth of Theseus per se and its relation to Athenian rituals. Mills 1997 and Walker 1995 are both “ideology” studies. Mills considers the myth of Theseus as an expression of Athenian ideology, especially as presented in tragedy, while Walker has a more historical approach.

Calame, Claude. 1996. Thésée et l’imaginaire athénien: Légende et culte en Grèce antique. 2d ed. Lausanne, Switzerland: Payot.
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The rich mythology of this hero provides Calame with a good basis for an investigation of the relationship between myth and ritual; Calame’s intricate theoretical language and constructs, though, are not easy to follow or assimilate.
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Mills, Sophie. 1997. Theseus, tragedy, and the Athenian empire. Oxford: Clarendon.
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A vigorous defense of the thesis that Athenians thought highly of themselves, considered Athens the true Greek city, and their local hero Theseus the true Greek hero. Although the book is especially concerned with the expression of this ideology in tragedy, the Athenian appropriation of this myth in the Archaic period is also well explained.
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Walker, Henry. 1995. Theseus and Athens. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Studies from the perspective of a historian how Theseus became the paradigmatic Athenian, highlighting the contradiction between the royal hero and the democratic ideology of the city. Most interesting are its first and second chapters on the development of this heroic figure in the Archaic period (in both myth and cult) and the early 5th century BCE.
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Themes

Studies devoted to themes rather than characters of myth have become increasingly frequent and have shed light on many mythological aspects. An early work of this type was the epoch-making study found in Detienne and Vernant 1978 on the Greek term metis, or “crooked intelligence.” The list in this section is a small sample of these studies. Auger 1995 is an excellent collective work dealing with most aspects of the representation of children in myth. The same can be said of Auger and Saïd 1998 about the intricate subject of genealogy, so important in myths. The complex relationship between Greek colonization and myths is explored in Dougherty 1993, a learned study. Forbes Irving 1990 on metamorphosis is a very useful and user-friendly consideration not only of many myths of transformation but also of the intrinsic value of myth as stories. Mayor 2000 is an innovative and entertaining study that makes use of paleontology for the interpretation of myths, written in a style suitable for larger audiences. Scheid and Svenbro 1996 calls attention to important role that fabric and weaving play in myths, and does so with a learned and inspiring style. Sergent 2006 explores the origins and significance of the enduring myth of Atlantis and numerous other stories related to it. The “rising and dying” gods were very popular in the scholarship of the early 20th century and then fell out of favor; Xella 2001 represents a serious scholarly effort to reopen the discussion of this intriguing phenomenon.

Auger, Danièle, ed. 1995. Enfants et enfances dans les mythologies: Actes du VIIe colloque du Centre de recherches mythologiques de l’Université de Paris-X: (Chantilly, 16–18 septembre 1992). Publications du Centre de Recherches Mythologiques de l’Université de Paris–X. Paris: Les Belles Lettres.
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A rich set of articles covering different themes relating to children in mythology, from the childhood of major heroes to the children of heroic figures. Especially worth consulting are François Jouan, “Les enfants du mythe” (pp. 33–39) and “Le thème de l’enfant maudit dans les mythes grecs,” (31–43); Paul Wathelet, “Enfances extraordinaires dans la mythology grecque” (63–76); Suzanne Mathé, “Les enfances chez Chiron” (45–62); and Henriette Mathieu, “L’enfant, point de départ ou aboutissement du héros” (13–30).
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Auger, Danièle, and Suzanne Saïd, eds. 1998. Généalogies mythiques: Actes du VIIIe colloque du Centre de recherches mythologiques de l’Université de Paris-X (Chantilly, 14–16 septembre 1995). Paris: Les Belles Lettres.
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Collection of papers, some very interesting, on the important topic of mythic genealogies. Especially appealing are Jacques Boulogne, “Les doubles paternités: le cas de Thésée” (pp. 119–137); Danièle Auger, “Arbre généalogique et plant de vigne” (87–115); Jean-Michel Renaud, “La généalogie de Tydée et de Diomède” (15–28); Suzanne Saïd, “La généalogie des Atrides” (299–306); and Jean-Claude Carrière, “Du mythe à l’histoire: Généalogies héroïques, chronologies légendaires et historicisation des mythes” (47–85).
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Detienne, Marcel, and Jean-Pierre Vernant. 1978. Cunning intelligence in Greek culture and society. Translated by Janet Lloyd. Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press.
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Epoch-making study of the Greek metis (“crooked intelligence,” “shrewdness”), which illuminated our understanding of Greek culture and myth and showed a new way to engage with ancient texts and their contexts. Translation of the French original, Les ruses de l’intelligence: La métis des Grecs (2d edition, Paris: Flammarion, 1978).
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Dougherty, Carol. 1993. The poetics of colonization: From city to text in Archaic Greece. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Explores the way colonization is represented in mythic narratives and traces the metaphors and patterns that Greeks of the Archaic and Classical periods used in speaking about it. Of interest too to those working in cultural history and anthropology.
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Forbes Irving, P. M. C. 1990. Metamorphosis in Greek myths. Oxford and New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Useful catalogue of stories of transformation in Greek myth, with stimulating interpretations of many of them, specifically based on their value as great stories.
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Mayor, Adrienne. 2000. The first fossil hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman times. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press.
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Proposes that the discovery of fossils by the ancients is the origin of the fabulous animals of Greek mythology.
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Scheid, John, and Jesper Svenbro. 1996. The craft of Zeus: Myths of weaving and fabric. Translated by Carol Volk. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press.
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This exciting book looks into the political, erotic, and aesthetic values of myths involving weaving in Greek culture. The rich analyses of many texts and other cultural artifacts have changed the way we understand the frequent references to weaving in the Greek context. Translation of the French original, Le metier de Zeus: Mythe du tissage et du tissu dans le monde greco-romain (Paris: La Decouverte, 1994).
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Sergent, Bernard. 2006. L’Atlantide et la mythologie grecque. Paris: L’Harmattan.
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Study of the myth in Plato’s Timaeus and Critias of the lost civilization of Atlantis, which waged war against the Athenians. Sergent examines the elements used by Plato and his sources in the elaboration of this myth. It also explores the meaning of this myth for Plato’s contemporaries.
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Xella, Paolo, ed. 2001. Quando un dio muore: Morti e assenze divine nelle antiche tradizioni mediterranee. Verona, Italy: Essedue.
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This edited volume is a valuable reconsideration of the “dying and rising” gods, a subject that had fallen out of scholarly favor for a long time owing to certain excesses on the part of J. G. Frazer and his followers. Good individual studies of Demeter and Kore, Adonis, Dionysos, Baal, Melqart, and others reanimate the discussion of this important topic.
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Plastic arts Representations

There are many studies on the subject of the representation of classical myths in the plastic arts. The list offered here is necessarily very selective.

Reference Works

This section presents some general works of reference with different aims, from the monumental Lexicon iconographicum (Ackermann and Gisler 1981–1997), which is comprehensive and for specialists, to the Beazley Archive, a useful tool for teachers as well as students. Aghion, et al. 1996 is a manageable and beautiful overview. Carpenter 1991 is truly an easy-to-use handbook, a useful companion for the teaching of mythology. Impelluso 2002 and van Keuren 1991 are clear presentations of how to read images and identify characters depicted in them, and are also useful for those teaching mythology, or for aficionados. Finally, Woodford 2003 is a beautiful book that actually teaches how to read images and can be used by those unfamiliar with the field.

Ackermann, Hans Christian, and Jean-Robert Gisler. 1981–1997. Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae. 8 vols. Zurich, Switzerland: Artemis.
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This monumental multi-authored work (conventionally abbreviated LIMC) is an indispensable research instrument for anyone interested in classical mythology. The catalogue of plastic-art representations of myths is exhaustive.
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Aghion, Irène, Claire Barbillon, and François Lissarrague. 1996. Gods and heroes of Classical Antiquity. Flammarion Iconographic Guides. Translated by Leonard N. Amico. Paris and New York: Flammarion.
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Very complete guidebook, originally published in French but available now in several other languages, with references to original literary sources and representations in the plastic arts. It includes analyses of the iconographic characteristics of mythical figures in ancient and modern art, with full cross-references, useful bibliography for each entry and at the end of the work, and an index. Translation of the French original, Héros et dieux de l’antiquité: Collection des guides iconographiques (Paris: Flammarion, 1994).
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Beazley Archive. Univ. of Oxford.
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This is an excellent tool for students and professionals. It provides access to very good reproductions of images of pottery, sculpture, gems, and other artifacts. It also has a dictionary with entries on the main subjects of myths and bibliographies, including a section on the reception of classical art in later times; addressed to undergraduate students, and updated regularly. Very useful for a quick consultation or as a starting point for further research.
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Carpenter, Thomas H. 1991. Art and myth in ancient Greece: A handbook. London: Thames and Hudson.
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Examines the representations of gods and heroes in plastic arts, and of major mythological episodes such as the Trojan War or the voyage of the Argonauts. Organized according to subject, and easy to use. Many illustrations.
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Impelluso, Lucia. 2002. Gods and heroes in art. Edited by Stefano Zuffi; translated by Thomas Michael Hartman. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum.
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This excellent reference work’s six chapters review Greek and Roman mythology, beginning with the gods, heroes, and mythical events, and concluding with historical characters of Greece and Rome. It gives useful descriptions of each figure’s characteristics and attributes, which are of great help in their identification. Translation of the Italian original, Eroi e dei dell’antichità (Milan: Elemond, 2002).
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Van Keuren, Frances Dodd. 1991. Guide to research in classical art and mythology. Chicago: American Library Association.
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Comprehensive and very useful, especially for those unfamiliar with the field.
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Woodford, Susan. 2003. Images of myths in Classical Antiquity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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This is not just another book on art and myth; it is firmly grounded in the images, which the author analyzes to show how artists developed a series of techniques to reproduce or even transform the stories. The author uncovers formulas and patterns, the ways in which motifs were adapted from one context to another, and even errors. It is well written and produced, with very useful appendixes, bibliography, and index.
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Studies

This section gathers titles that are concerned with specific subjects, such as Barringer 1995 on the Nereids, or Castaldo 2000 on musical instruments, or ones that are limited in other ways. Thus, Shapiro 1994 examines only thirty myths and only in vase paintings, and Castriota 1992 looks into the political use of mythical representations in the 5th century BCE. The ambitious and largely successful Agard 1951 and the more limited Henle 1973, apart from being classics, are concerned respectively with sculpture and vase painting. Karl Schefold devoted most of his life to the study of the relation of poetry, myth, and art. His works are indispensable for those engaged with the topic but are also accessible to the nonspecialists. Schefold 1992 is cited here as a representative sample of his important and extensive work. Sourvinou-Inwood 1991 is a representative product of this author, whose work truly integrates texts and images.

Agard, Walter R. 1951. Classical myths in sculpture. Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press.
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Ample coverage from Antiquity to the present. A classic.
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Barringer, Judith M. 1995. Divine escorts:Nereids in Archaic and Classical Greek art. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press.
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Employs all available material evidence (monuments, vases, mosaics, gems) on the Nereids in Greece from the 6th to the 4th century BCE to determine their role and significance in the contemporary culture.
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Castaldo, Daniela. 2000. Il pantheon musicale: Iconografia nella ceramica attica tra VI e IV secolo. Ravenna, Italy: Longo.
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Exhaustive study of all representations of divinities connected to musical instruments in the pottery of the Classical period.
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Castriota, David. 1992. Myth, ethos, and actuality: Official art in fifth-century B.C. Athens. Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press.
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A good critical survey of the use of myth in art, and its ideological implications.
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Henle, Jane. 1973. Greek myths:A vase painter’s notebook. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press.
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Without being a perfect book (captions to illustrations do not indicate the date, and there are no indexes), this can serve as a companion to a mythology handbook, since it traces the histories of gods and heroes through their representations on vases. The typological catalogue at the end is of interest.
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Linant de Bellefonds, Pascale, et al., eds. 2000. Agathos daimon: Mythes et cultes; Études d’iconographie en l’honneur de Lilly Kahil. Athens, Greece: École française d’Athènes.
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This is an important publication with many contributions of interest for the student of mythology; some of the topics covered are Apollo, Heracles, Pandora, Helen, Penelope, and Artemis. Most chapters are in French, but a good number are in English. Special attention is paid to the iconography of myths in sculpture or vases.
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Schefold, Karl. 1992. Gods and heroes in Late Archaic Greek art. Translated by lan Griffiths. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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One of the most important contributions of this major scholar, full of illuminating interpretations, especially on the iconography of heroes such as Heracles and Bellerophon. The volume includes several highly useful illustrations and abundant references to Schefold’s earlier work on most aspects of ancient representations of mythological topics. Translation of the German original, Götter und Heldensagen der Griechen in der Spätarchaischen Kunst (Munich: Hirmer, 1978).
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Shapiro, H. A. 1994. Myth into art: Poet and painter in Classical Greece. London: Routledge.
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Contrasts the representations of thirty myths in poetry and in vase paintings.
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Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane. 1991. “Reading” Greek culture: Texts and images, rituals and myths. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
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Good introduction to the work of this scholar, who made important contributions on how to integrate texts, ritual performances, and images in order to reconstruct the classical Athenian perception of myths.
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Later Tradition in European Cultures (Literature, Art, Music)

The tradition of classical mythology in European cultures, needless to say, is so massive that it has become a subfield of classical studies and has generated an immense literature. This list of citations is therefore very selective. There are two subsections: first, some important basic reference works, and second, titles that treat specific topics, such as the tradition in film or in music.

Reference Works

Mayerson 1971 is still very useful and informative, but for more serious research it needs to be supplemented with updated bibliographical references, such as the excellent Walther 2003. Both are good as quick reference works. Reid 1993 is the most complete and best-organized guide. Kreuz, et al. 2008 is a bibliography that may be overwhelming to the nonspecialist. Chance 1994–2000 provides a superb treatment of classical myths and their interpretation in the Middle Ages, for scholars.

Chance, Jane. 1994–2000. Medieval mythography. 2 vols. Gainesville: Univ. Press of Florida.
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This extraordinary reference work is required reading for the specialist on medieval literature (especially in the West), the mythical tradition, or the interpretation of texts; for example, there is much about the traditions of allegorical commentary, especially of Homer and Virgil. Very well documented, it covers from the 5th to the 15th centuries CE (Vol. 1, From Roman North Africa to the School of Chartres, A.D. 433–1177; Vol. 2, From the school of Chartres to the court at Avignon, 1177–1350).
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Kreuz, Bernhard, Petra Aigner, and Christine Harrauer. 2008. Bibliomythos.
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This is an excellent and extensive downloadable bibliography collected by three specialists on the use of classical mythology in later times. It has sections on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and from the 17th century up to the 19th. It includes many works of general reference, plus on the heritage of classical mythology in all major European traditions (in German, French, English, Italian and Spanish, etc.), not only in literature but also in the plastic arts and music.
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Mayerson, Philip. 1971. Classical mythology in literature, art, and music. Waltham, MA: Xerox College Publishing.
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The excellent catalogue of works influenced by classical mythology, the extensive knowledge of its author, and the fine illustrations it contains make this work still useful, in spite of its date. Although it can be read with pleasure from cover to cover, it is probably best used is as a quick reference. The index is helpful, but the bibliography is out of date.
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Reid, Jane Davidson, with Chris Rohmann. 1993. The Oxford guide to classical mythology in the arts, 1300–1990s. 2 vols. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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A monumental work that covers visual arts, performing arts (ballet, theater), and literature (but no film), organized by subject in alphabetical order. Ancient art is not included, but there are references to the Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae, which was still unfinished at the time of publication. Various lists (of authors, works, etc.) and a copious bibliography make this a required reference for anyone working on the later tradition of classical myth.
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Walther, Lutz, ed. 2003. Antike Mythen und ihre Rezeption: Ein Lexikon. Leipzig, Germany: Reclam.
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Excellent reference work, with good bibliography for further study.
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Studies

Von Haehling 2005, a collective work, centers on the important period of transition from Classical Antiquity to Christianity. The papers collected in Hofmann 1999 study the tradition of several important characters of myth, mostly heroes, a topic that Susanetti 2005 treats in depth while focusing specifically on literature, not other arts. Seznec 1961 is devoted to the tradition of the gods. Poduska 1999 offers a bibliographical guide to the tradition of myth in music, which can be a good starting point for those interested in the subject. Three titles deal with cinema: Solomon 2001 is the second edition of the major work on the subject. Winkler 2001, a collective work, offers a variety of perspectives on the presence of classical culture and myths in film, from the Odyssey to tragedy and the Roman novel; Nisbet 2006 is of interest for dealing not with Rome (a more common subject in films) but specifically with Greek myth. It also examines the tradition in popular culture, not only film.

Hofmann, Heinz, ed. 1999. Antike Mythen in der europäischen Tradition. Attempto Studium Generale. Tübingen, Germany: Attempto.
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Contributions by various authors examining the tradition in later culture of the myths of Odysseus, Achilles, Pandora, Oedipus, Orpheus, and others. As often with multi-authored publications, some papers are more comprehensive (for example, the treatment of Odysseus) and more clearly written than others.
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Jacks, Philip. 1993. The antiquarian and the myth of Antiquity: The origins of Rome in Renaissance thought. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
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On the myth of the origins of Rome and its treatment in a wide variety of Renaissance sources. The difficult style of the author may discourage some readers.
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Nisbet, Gideon. 2006. Ancient Greece in film and popular culture. Exeter, UK: Bristol Phoenix.
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Most studies of “classics in the movies” concentrate on Rome. This book has the originality of presenting a chapter devoted to the representations of Heracles and the Iliad and the Trojan War, and another one to Alexander in films. Very readable and enjoyable in spite of some factual errors.
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Poduska, D. M. 1999. Classical myth in music: A selective list. Classical World 92:195–276.
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Music has received less attention than other arts in the literature on the later tradition of the classical myths. This list, without being exhaustive, partially fills that void.
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Seznec, Jean. 1961. The survival of the pagan gods: The mythological tradition and its place in Renaissance humanism and art. Translated by Barbara Sessions. New York: Harper and Brothers.
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Seznec showed how pagan myths and traditions did not die with the arrival of Christianity, but were transformed and adapted and continued to exist in different guises. Translation of the French original, La survivance des dieux antiques: Essai sur le role de la tradition mythologique dans l’humanisme et dans l’art de la Renaissance (London: Warburg Institute, 1940).
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Solomon, Jon. 2001. The ancient world in the cinema. 2d ed. New Haven, CT: Yale Univ. Press.
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A wealth of information. A classic.
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Susanetti, Davide. 2005. Favole antiche: Mito greco e tradizione letteraria europea. Rome: Carocci.
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Presents and interprets the myths of Prometheus, Odysseus, Oedipus, Orpheus, Narcissus, Electra, Antigone, Helen, Medea, and Phaedra, and their later tradition in European literatures (although Spain is not well represented). It pays special attention to the interaction of myth with literature, and the uses made of myths in different periods and societies. This is a richly documented book (additional bibliography is recommended for further reading), appealing not only to classicists but also to specialists in other periods of Western civilization.
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Von Haehling, Raban, ed. 2005. Griechische Mythologie und frühes Christentum. Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
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A collection of numerous papers examining the treatment, appropriation, and symbolism of pagan myth in early Christian texts. Of interest not only to classicists but also to specialists in Late Antiquity and Christian studies.
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Winkler, Martin M., ed. 2001. Classical myth and culture in the cinema. Oxford and New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
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A collection of fifteen articles by various authors, edited by a scholar who has done the most to promote the study of the influence of the classical world on film. Very good introduction.
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Folklore

Scholarship on classical mythology traditionally did not make sufficient use of studies of folklore, and only recently have the findings and methods of that discipline been incorporated into the classics. Anderson 2000 and Hansen 2002 are examples of this trend. Thompson 2001 (originally puiblished 1955–1958) is a classic work of reference still in use.

Anderson, Graham. 2000. Fairytale in the ancient world. London: Routledge.
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Although the proposed connections of a modern fairytale with an ancient story are often thin to the point of seeming speculative, this book opened up a new area of research in classics.
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Hansen, William. 2002. Ariadne’s thread: A guide to international tales found in classical literature. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Univ. Press.
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This unique book is a fascinating analysis of traditional stories from ancient times (often cast as legends) that survive into modern times, often as fairytales or folktales.
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Thompson, Stith. 2001. A motif-index of folk literature: A classification of narrative elements in folktales, ballads, myths, fables, mediaeval romances, exempla, fabliaux, jest-books and local legends. 6 vols. Rev. and enlarged ed. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press.
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The basic classification of folklore types, with multiple subclassifications; develops the work of Antti Aarne (the AT number used to classify folktales refers to Aarne and Thompson’s catalogue). Originally published 1955–1958; excerpts for specific cultural regions have also appeared.
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