Gods and Heroes of the Greeks: The Library of Apollodorus

By Apollodorus and Apollodorus of Athens

Book Overview

The immortal characters of Greek mythology enact their dramas, conflicts, and passions in the Library of Apollodorus. Probably composed in the first century A.D., it is the only Greek handbook of mythology to survive antiquity, and is a major source of our knowledge of Greek myths.

Beginning with the birth of the gods and ending with the death of Odysseus, the Library traces the destinies of such great mythic figures as Prometheus, Oedipus, Heracles, Daedalus, and the heroes of the Trojan War. Sir James G. Frazer called the Library "an accurate record of what the Greeks in general believed about the origin an early history of the world and their race."

Michael Simpson's new translation captures the fine simplicity and straightforwardness of the original. Leonard Baskin's drawings throw a unique contemporary light on this ancient world.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870232061
• ISBN13: 9780870232060
• Release Date: September 1976
• Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.2"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

Bought the book to supplement a DVD course from the Teaching Company for my students. Reviewed book and is thorough in content. Is to be used as recommended by Prof. teaching Mythology course. Students seem to like it.

Of Use

The Oxford History of the Biblical World This title required by professor for class; refresher to classical greek mythology. Excellent reference with explanations presented in an orderly manner.

Ian Myles Slater on: Ancient Handbook of Ancient Myth

This is one of several translations of an ancient (date disputed) compilation of summaries of stories of the gods and heroes of Greece (but not Rome), based, where it can be checked, on excellent sources. If the name of the author is correct, he cannot be the "Apollodorus the Grammarian" to whom the work used to be attributed, but given the lack of fraudulent internal claims, the bare name seems to me better than "Pseudo-Apollodorus". Given the huge amount of classical literature that has been lost, and the primary sources to which this compiler seems to have had access (whoever and whenever he was), it is even more regrettable that a portion of "The Library" survives only in an abridged form. (Fortunately, part of the re-summarized material is Homeric; unfortunately, some of it is not.) This translation features extensive commentary giving detailed comparisons to other classical versions of the divine and heroic stories, combined with surveys of modern literary uses of the stories. The latter is now dated, of course, and Sir James Frazer (of "The Golden Bough") gave even more information from ancient sources in his commentary (with translation facing a Greek text) of 1921 (two volumes in the Loeb Classical Library). But Michael Simpson is clear, and, on the whole, well organized. Some readers seem to have found the language too American for their taste. It should be remembered that the author, whoever he was, used a kind of "international literary Greek," which probably seemed fairly up-to-date to his well-educated readers. Whether academic American English is a good substitute is certainly arguable. The index is not nearly as comprehensive as that in Keith Aldrich's rival version of 1975 (now out of print), but it usually helpful, and Aldrich does not discuss other ancient versions in any detail, or refer to modern literary versions. A recent translation by Robin Hard also has a better index (several, in fact), and is fairly good on ancient variants, but likewise avoids treatment of modern versions of the old stories. Simpson's commentary appears as endnotes to sections of the main text, which makes for frequent interruptions, but I have used this edition for a quarter century with considerable enjoyment, and frequent enlightenment about other ancient works. Simpson's translation lacks the textual notes and apparatus of Robin Hard's 1997 translation, and Hard's introduction and commentary show both a later stage of classical studies and a more sophisticated view of the structure of "The Library". The two translations meet different needs, and it is good to have both available. If Aldrich was reprinted to join Frazer's more expensive translation (with Greek text), one might have to make a hard decision about how many versions can be afforded, and how much shelf space they deserve. As it is, the serious student and the lover of ancient literature may want to have both Simpson and Hard at hand, or in a convenient library; Frazer's edition ca

The Best Compilation of Greek Myths & Legends

Just like the playwrights, Ovid is great in his own sphere (get the Arthur Golding translation--"Shakespeare's Ovid"), but his Metamorphoses are an artistic presentation of a single poet, whereas Apollodorus (though he surely relies on the poets as well) gives the simplest and most demotic/standard versions of the stories. Ovid is Variations on a Theme, while Apollodorus is as close as we get to the theme itself. Or rather, to the many themes, because his work covers so much more than is in any other work. Some of the more important parts included are: The Theogony (Creation of the Cosmos and Gods), "Rape" (=Abduction) of Persephone, War of Gods and Giants, Prometheus' Fire, the Calydonian Boar, Sisyphus, Jason and the Argonauts, Medea, Bellerophon, Perseus, Hercules (all the great stories) and his children, Europa, Minos, Cadmus, Oedipus and Aftermath, Atlanta and the Apples, Aesculapius and Chiron, Helen's Early Years, the Palladium, Peleus, the Kings of Athens, Theseus, Tantalus, Atreus/Thyestes and all that Mess, Helen and the Trojan War, Achilles and the Iliad, the Odyssey and the other Returns from Troy. So it's well that this is called The Library, because Apollodorus compresses a huge amount of information into four short books. So rather than being some of the dullest of ancient writing, as one reviewer says, it both treats the greatest stories and does so with economy and swiftness. This is not only a valuable reference book (as is Robert Graves's Greek Myths), but the work I often recommend as the best presentation for anyone who wants a no-nonsense overview of the whole of Greek mythology (and nice because it's one of the ancient Greeks themselves retelling the stories). Now, if you want a cheap copy, just get the Oxford one. But if you want really excellent notes, get the Loeb edition annotated by Sir James Frazer (author of The Golden Bough), which also has some excellent short essays by him on themes in the stories. And if you've been studying Greek, get the Loeb one too, which is literal enough to work as a good "pony", though the Greek is quite easy Alexandrian and you won't have any problems with it: My own Greek is not nearly as good as I'd like it to be, but I could read the whole thing in a few days no problem. The only thing I couldn't do is put it down!