The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology (Penguin Dictionary) - Softcover

Grimal, Pierre

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140512357 ISBN 13: 9780140512359

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1992

Synopsis

An outstanding distillation of Grimal's classic reference, this extensively cross-referenced work offers clear and concise entries that capture the essence of Greek and Roman mythology.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The Dictionary of Classical Mythology is a unique companion to the ancient Greek and Roman myths and legends. The story of every character, whether human or divine, major or minor, is retold in this book, detailing every version and variation. Naiads, dryads, hamadryads, nymphs, fauns, satyrs and centaurs - the different types of mythological figures are distinguished and fitted into the overall pattern of legendary events and the places where these happened such as Olympus, Arcadia, Troy, Crete and Parnassus are identified and described.

Forty genealogical tables explain the complex and often bizarre relationships between interlocking families of gods and people. Wherever appropriate the entries are illustrated with antique paintings, ceramics, coins, sculpture and mosaics. Maps of the Greek and Roman world and photographs of ancient sites provide a guide to the topography of classical mythology. An exhaustive reference section lists every mention of each character in classical literature: this alone makes the book an essential source of reference for scholars.

The Dictionary will be an essential companion to the study of Western literature and art, a significant part of which has always been concerned with the ancient myths and legends as a source of both subject matter and allusion.

But above all this book is a fascinating and readable guide to the rich and diverse legends and mythologies of the classical world.

About the Author

Pierre Grimal (1912–1996) was born in Paris and was a professor at the Faculté des lettres at the Sorbonne until 1982. Grimal was the author of many works that studied ancient Greece and Rome, including The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology, which Library Journal called "invaluable and sorely needed."

Steve Kershaw, editor of The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology, has been interested in the world of the ancient Romans and Greeks since primary school. He earned his PhD at Bristol University under the supervision of Professor Richard Buxton, one of the world's leading scholars on Greek mythology. Professor Kershaw currently teaches at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education.

A. R. Maxwell-Hyslop is a translator known for the translation of Pierre Grimal’s The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology. The Times Literary Supplement called the book "a work at once authoritative and complete with an impressive standard of accuracy."

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0140512357
• ISBN 13: 9780140512359
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480
• Editor: Kershaw Stephen