The Greek Myths 1 and 2

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Each chapter consists of three parts: the first part contains a retelling of a myth (sometimes multiple version thereof) divided into paragraphs that are labelled alphabetically; the second part contains references that appeared as numbered footnotes in the first part; the third part contains Graves’s commentary, also divided into paragraphs, though labelled numerically. H. J. Rose, agreeing with several of the above critics, questions the scholarship of the retellings. Graves presents The Greek Myths as an updating of William Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (originally published 1844), which Graves calls "the standard work in English", never brought up to date; Rose is dismayed to find no sign that Graves had heard of the Oxford Classical Dictionary or any of the "various compendia of mythology, written in, or translated into, our tongue since 1844". Rose finds many omissions and some clear errors, most seriously Graves's ascribing to Sophocles the argument of his Ajax (Graves §168.4); this evaluation has been repeated by other critics since. [12] [13] Graves analyses mythology in strict historical context. No psychological or philosophical musings here. But his depth and breadth of coverage are fantastic. Each short chapter first presents the story, then analyses it in detail through notes, with secondary references provided wherever required. It is a book to savour at leisure, and justifies multiple readings if you want to get the maximum out of it. Why do certain numbers appear so frequently in Greek myth? For example, triads of women - the 3 Fates, the 3 Erinnyes, the 3 Graeae, the triad of Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena coming to Paris; the triad of Core, Demeter, and Persephone; and many, many more surprisingly subtle triads that pop up throughout Greek myth. According to Graves, these are all manifestations of the ancient "Triple Goddess" who appears as Virgin, Nymph, and Crone. Robert Graves is quite thorough in writing about the myths and at the end of each story, he provides foot notes that can be as long as the story itself.

These beliefs actually would account for a lot of the repeating oddities of Greek mythology. For example, why are there so many examples of women laying with a god and with their husband at around the same time and then bearing twins, one divine and one mortal? For example, Heracles and Iphicles, Castor and Polydeuces, and Eteocles and Polyneices are just three of many examples. Graves explains this as being the sacred king and his tanist.I set aside the criticism of Graves's commentary, as I am not qualified to assess it. Truth, fiction, or poetic imagination, be that as it may, I did enjoy the various pattern observations: triplets of goddesses, the persistent “king and tanist" motif, symbols of flora and fauna, and so on.

There are some additional loosely related volumes that I mention here for the sake of completeness, as they have complementary binding designs, and so some consider them to be part of the same set. The Greek Myths (1955) is a mythography, a compendium of Greek mythology, with comments and analyses, by the poet and writer Robert Graves, normally published in two volumes, though there are abridged editions that present the myths only. Graves explains these via his theory that ancient kings were sacrificed at the end of their term (which is why so many sons kill their fathers in Greek myth), or that ancient kings could sacrifice substitutes to extend their terms (which is why so many kings sacrifice their children). Apparently the ancient Greeks loved to sacrifice people by throwing them off of cliffs. He also explains many myths via misreadings of ancient icons (for example, the discus that kills kings is actually a sun-disk representing the length of their term, according to Graves).These women were not only the victims of this heinous crime but they also got to be punished for it by the ever jealous Hera. The volumes can be used in different ways. One of the more useful ways is as a reference for learning about references to Greek Mythology. The table of contents provides 171 different myth titles to choose from, but if that doesn’t help you find a particular reference, the index at the end of the second volume will help you locate the relevant myths that touch upon a particular name or subject. Ovid’s Metamorphoses was published in 1995. It is translated and introduced by Mary M. Innes, and illustrated by Richard Shirley Smith. Each chapter is about 50% myth and 50% Robert Graves' analysis of the myth. Robert Graves believes in some really weird things, like that pre-Hellenic Greece was a matriarchal society that believed in a "Mother Goddess" or "Triple Goddess" that was common to all Eastern Mediterranean worship. Most of the rapes of early Greek myth can be explained by the invading Hellenes conquering goddess shrines, according to Graves. Graves also claims that in pre-Hellenic Greece, kings' rules were limited to solar cycles (such as one year, or 'great years' of 4 or 19 years, when the moon and sun are in greater alignment), and rule was divided between a sacred king and a 'tanist' (an earthly king), who were often in competition. And at the end of their reign, the sacred king had to be sacrificed (there was apparently a lot of human sacrifice in pre-Hellenic Greece); eventually, substitutes were found for the king (such as his children). So really all one can do about this rather complicated book as I’ve done is to concentrate on for example, Pandora, as she fascinates me, to begin with and find out who she’s related to (which in itself is like being on an odyssey) and working out from there as if I were a spider on the web awaiting my next “kill”.

Also there were certain facts that I had in my head that I certainly proved to be wrong here. Little things I know but I always thought that it was Pandora’s box and not the jar and I had never even heard of The Sprites until I arrived at this part of the book. Also the Minotaur, well my own interpretation of that was completely wrong. Purtroppo le espressioni formulari divengono gettoni non più analizzati dal parlante: penso, per esempio, all’avverbio affatto, probabilmente risalente a una locuzione del latino parlato (ad factum) e significante “interamente, del tutto”, come anche oggi nell’espressione colta: “L’onestissimo Giovanni è affatto privo di doppiezza”. Però questo avverbio, usato spesso come rafforzativo in frasi negative (“non la penso affatto come te”, “non ho affatto voglia di impegnarmi”), ha preso, nell’uso corrente, il significato contrario di “per nulla”, specie nelle risposte a domande che chiedono un sì o un no: “Hai freddo?” “Affatto”; il quale affatto evidentemente sottintende un niente (niente affatto) e assume su di sé il senso della parola sottintesa». We open our tour with the single volume edition of The Greek Myths, retold by Robert Graves. This book was first released in 1996 and it is a fairly scholarly study of the myths, relating them to the way the ancient Greeks lived and thought. Each myth is presented in the voice of a narrator, and each God or Goddess is introduced as they are born. The tales are followed by an interpretation of its origin and significance. Grahame Baker provides the lovely illustrations. The Greek Myths has been heavily criticised both during and after the lifetime of the author. Critics have deprecated Graves's personal interpretations, which are, in the words of one of them, "either the greatest single contribution that has ever been made to the interpretation of Greek myth or else a farrago of cranky nonsense; I fear that it would be impossible to find any classical scholar who would agree with the former diagnosis". Graves's etymologies have been questioned, and his largely intuitive division between "true myth" and other sorts of story has been viewed as arbitrary, taking myths out of the context in which we now find them. The basic assumption that explaining mythology requires any "general hypothesis", whether Graves's or some other, has also been disputed. [7] The work has been called a compendium of misinterpretations. [8] Sibylle Ihm refers to Graves's "creative mishandling of the Greek myths." [9] Robin Hard called it "comprehensive and attractively written," but added that "the interpretive notes are of value only as a guide to the author's personal mythology". [10] The Disraeli scholar Michel Pharand replies that "Graves's theories and conclusions, outlandish as they seemed to his contemporaries (or may appear to us), were the result of careful observation." [11]Graves's retellings have been widely praised as imaginative and poetic, but the scholarship behind his hypotheses and conclusions is generally criticised as idiosyncratic and untenable. [5] One of the saddest pictures in the world - a favourite bookshop in the process of getting demolished. It is a very interesting read for those interested in Greek mythology, but again it is closer to a “Who's Who” of mythology and Classical Literature and not the full stories. If you are looking for stories with heroes fighting monsters I would suggest you look elsewhere, however if you are looking a deeper understanding of where the characters you know (and either love or hate) come from and interacted with the world, this is for you.