What Is Greek Mythology? (Paperback)

How did Zeus come to rule the sky? How did Poseidon become the god of the sea? Learn all about the myths and legends of Greek mythology in this dramatic history, featuring 16 pages of photos.

Celebrate ancient Greek mythology and civilization, where Heracles performed his twelve heroic feats and Athena defended the acropolis as the goddess of war and wisdom. For centuries, these tales were at the center of Greek society and religion. The legends of Greek mythology have been retold around the world in stories like Ovid's Heroides and Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, influencing everything from ancient Roman culture to bestselling American novels of the twenty-first century. Including well-known tales of Medusa and Perseus, sirens, goddesses, and more, this book explores the vibrant stories that live on and inspire young readers to this day.

Excerpt

What Is Greek Mythology?

Ancient Greece, around 650 BCE. Inside the great hall of the king’s palace, in the glow of dozens of torches and oil lamps, one of the king’s squires (a young nobleman) presented the famous poet. A seat was offered to him in the center of the hall, where the poet was surrounded by the king and his guests. A table was set beside his chair, with a plate of food and a cup of wine mixed with water. Another servant handed the poet his lyre, a small stringed instrument like a U-shaped harp.

The king rose, with his cup in hand, and prayed out loud: “I and all those gathered here ask for the blessing of Zeus, so that we may succeed in all we do, and we will honor him and the rest of the gods on Olympus with offerings and sacrifices.”

As he finished, everyone tipped their cups so that a few drops of wine from each one spilled to the floor. This was a libation, a way of sharing the wine with the god Zeus as an act of worship and a sign of respect.

After the libation, the feast began. The room was filled with the buzz of conversation and laughter. When everyone had finished, the plates were cleared and the cups refilled. A hush fell on the crowd. All eyes turned to the poet, who sat forward in his chair and plucked briefly at his lyre, checking that it was properly tuned.

The poet lifted his head and called upon the Muse Calliope, the patron goddess of epic poetry, to speak through him: “Sing, Goddess, of the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, the accursed anger which brought the Achaeans countless agonies and hurled many ghosts of mighty heroes into the Underworld, causing them to become the prey of dogs and carrion birds, and the plan of Zeus was fulfilled...”

The poet was reciting from the Iliad. It is a tale set in the last year of a decade-long war between the people of Troy, a city in what is today northwestern Turkey, and the Achaeans, from what is now Greece. The Iliad and another connected story, the Odyssey, are just two of the greatest examples of epic poetry that were told and retold for centuries.

In fact, the scene described above is borrowed from the Iliad and Odyssey and is not from a recorded historical event. But poetic performances like this happened on thousands of occasions over many generations in ancient Greece. These tales, and many others, taught or reminded the Greeks about how the immortal gods, who held supernatural powers and could not die, were present and involved in human events. They were also fun and exciting, with colorful characters and amazing adventures.

The tales of Greek mythology were embedded in Greek society and were at the center of
Greek religion. In time, poets and playwrights wrote down the myths. Some created new stories out of the older ones. Sculptors decorated Greek temples with images of the myths, and artists painted the myths onto vases and walls and etched them onto jewelry. The richness and variety of Greek mythology makes it endlessly adaptable. One story can blend straight away into another. The myths are so attractive that the Romans, the Greeks’ Mediterranean neighbors, adapted many of them to their own culture and religion, and from the Romans they came down to us. Over the centuries, Greek mythology has endured, and the stories still captivate us today.

About the Author

Kathryn Waterfield (née Dunathan) is a writer and tour lecturer specializing in Greek history. Formerly with the University of South Florida and the Tampa Museum of Art, Kathryn holds an MA with distinction in classical studies from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. She lives with her husband, classicist Robin Waterfield, in the remote southern Peloponnese in Greece.