The Library of Greek Mythology

340 Pages·1998·37.655 MB·English

by  Apollodorus, translation by Robin Hard

OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
Apollodorus
The Library of
Greek Mythology
A
newtranslation bvRobin Hard
Library
Boston Piilillc
OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
THE LIBRARY OF
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Apollodorus is the name traditionally ascribed to the author of
theLibrary. AlthoughhewasformerlyidentifiedasApollodorusof
Athens, a distinguished Alexandrian scholar ofthe second century
bc,itisnowrecognizedthattheLibrarymusthavebeenwrittenata
laterperiod,probablythefirstorsecondcenturyad.Itisnotknown
whether Apollodorus was the author's true name; in any case
we know nothing about him. Essentially an editor rather than an
original writer, he compiled this briefbut comprehensive guide to
Greek mythology by selecting and summarizing material from the
worksofearlierwriters. Based inthemainongoodearlysources,it
isaninvaluablereferencework.
RobinHardstudied GreekatAberystwythandReading,writinga
doctoral thesis on Plato's Symposium, and is currently combining
writing and translating with the part-time teaching of ancient
philosophyandGreek.
OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
ForalmostiooyearsOxfordWorld'sClassicshavebrought
readersclosertotheworld'sgreatliterature.Nowwithoverjoo
—
titles fromthe4,000-year-oldm—ythsofMesopotamiatothe
twentiethcentury'sgreatestnovels theseriesmakesavailable
lesser-knownaswellascelebratedwriting.
Thepocket-sizedhardbacksoftheearlyyearscontained
introductionsby Virginia Woolf T.S. Eliot, GrahamGreene,
andotherliteraryfigureswhichenrichedtheexperienceofreading.
Todaytheseriesisrecognizedforitsfinescholarshipand
reliabilityintextsthatspanworldliterature,dramaandpoetry,
religion,philosophyandpolitics.Eacheditionincludesperceptive
commentaryandessentialbackgroundinformationtomeetthe
changingneedsofreaders.
OXFORD WORLD'S CLASSICS
APOLLODORUS
The Library of
Greek Mythology
TranslatedwithanIntroduction andNotesby
ROBIN HARD
Oxford NewYork
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
_
OxfordUniversityPress, GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford0x26dp
Oxford Nem York
ttkem Auckland Bangkok Bogota BuenosAires Calcutta
Cape Town Chcnnai baresSalaam Delhi Florence HongKong Istanbul
Karachi KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Mumbai
Nairobi Pans SaoPaulo Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw
andassociatedcompaniesin Berlin Ibadan
OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress
©RobinHardigqj
Firstpublishedasa World'sClassicspaperbackiggj
ReissuedasanOxfordWorld'sClassicspaperbackiggS
Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,
storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,
withoutthepriorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress.
WithintheUK,exceptionsareallowedinrespectofanyfairdealingforthe
purposeofresearchorprivatestudy,orcriticismorreview,aspermitted
undertheCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct, iqHH,orinthecaseof
reprographicreproductioninaccordancewiththetermsofthelicences
issuedbytheCopyrightLicensingAgency.Enquiriesconcerning
reproductionoutsidethesetermsandinothercountriesshouldbe
senttotheRightsDepartment, OxfordUniversityPress,
attheaddressabove
Thisbookissoldsubjecttotheconditionthatitshallnot,byway
oftradeorotherwise,belent,re-sold,hiredoutorotherwisecirculated
withoutthepublisher'spriorconsentinanyformofbindingorcover
otherthanthatinwhichitispublishedandwithoutasimilarcondition
includingthisconditionbeingimposedonthesubsequentpurchaser
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Dataavailable
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Apollodorus.
[Bibliotheea.English]
ThelibraryofGreekmythology/Apollodorus;translatedbyRobinHard.
(Oxfordworld'sclassics)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindexes.
1.Mythology, Greek. I.Hard,Robin. II. Title. III.Series.
PA38JO.A73 iggj 2g.i't—dc20 gb-34135
ISBN0-1^28^24-1(pbk.)
1 3 579 10 8642
PrintedinGreatBritainby
Cox(5W'yman,Reading,Berkshire
CONTENTS
Introduction vii
Note on the Text and Translation xxviii
Select Bibliography xxxi
THE LIBRARY OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY
i
Contents 3
Genealogical Tables 9
Map 10
The Library 27
Appendix: Some Interpolations and an Unreliable
Passagefrom the Epitome 171
Explanatory Notes 177
The Twelve Gods 262
References to Animals and Transformations 267
Index ofNames 271
BR BR
PA3870
.A73
1998x

INTRODUCTION
The LibraryofApollodorusisaconcisebutcomprehensiveguide
to Greek mythology. It covers the full span ofmythical history
from the origins ofthe universe and the gods to the Trojan War
and its aftermath, and between these limits it tells the story of
each ofthe great families ofheroic mythology, and ofthe vari-
ous adventures associated with the main heroes and heroines.
This is the only work of its kind to survive from classical
antiquity. Although the Greeks developed an extensive and var-
ied mythographical literature in Hellenistic and Roman times,
the few handbooks which have been preserved are mostly spe-
cialist anthologies, recording myths of the constellations, for
instance, or tales oftransformation, and manyofthe storiescon-
tained inthemarerelativelyobscureandoflateorigin. Theauthor
ofthe Library, by contrast, wanted to provide his readers with
a general handbook which would offer them an account ofthe
most important myths as related in the earlier tradition (with
only the occasional late or recondite variant). Otherwise we pos-
sessonlytwoworkswhichareatallcomparable. ThereisaLatin
compendium, the Myths (Fabulae) ofHyginus, probably dating
to the second century ad, which was based on a Greek pre-
decessor, but conveys its contents in a very imperfect form; it
presents summaries of myths and various catalogues in many
separate chapters. Although it is a valuable source for myths
or versions ofmyths which would otherwise have been lost, it
is disorganized and sadly unreliable, and has to be approached
with caution. Secondly, when Diodorus ofSicily was compiling
his historical compendium in the first century bc, he departed
from the more austere practices of many fellow historians and
included a section on the mythical history (or pre-history) of
Greece. Although it contains a useful biography ofHeracles and
other interesting material, Diodorus' account ofGreek myth is
not nearly as complete as that in the Library, and much ofit is
based on inferior Hellenistic sources.
It may seem surprising that this unpretentious handbook
should have survived when the most important works of the
vii
Introduction
ancient mythographers have been lost. Fortune, ofcourse, plays
a large part in such matters; all surviving manuscripts of the
Library derive from a single archetype. But ifit is unpretentious
to a fault, the Library encloses a mass ofreliable information in
a short space, and it is clear that the scholars oflater antiquity
found it exceptionally useful for that reason. It is often cited in
the scholia (explanatory comments on the works of the clas-
sical authors) and similar sources, and in the twelfth century the
Byzantine scholarJohn Tzetzes made extensive use ofit. This
suggests that the preservation of this particular handbook was
not simply a freak offortune, and that the writers ofthis later
period thoughtthatithad itsvirtues, atleastfromapurelyprac-
tical point of view. As it happens, we know directly what one
of the finest Byzantine scholars thought of the Library, for
Photius, patriarch ofConstantinople in the ninth century, reg-
istered his opinion in a briefreview. While travelling abroad on
a diplomatic mission, Photius kept a record of his reading for
his brother, and in this record, after summarizing the contents
ofanother mythical work, he noted:
In the same volume, I read a small work by the scholar Apollodorus;
it is entitled the Library. It contained the most ancient stories ofthe
Greeks:allthattimehasgiventhemtobelieveaboutthegodsandheroes,
and about the rivers, and lands, and peoples, and towns, and thence
everythingthat goes back to theearliesttimes. And it goes downas far
as the Trojan War, and covers the battles that certain of the heroes
fought with one another, and their exploits, and certain of the wan-
derings ofthe heroes returning from Troy, notably those ofOdysseus,
with whom this history ofancient times concludes. All in all, it is a
general summary which is by no means lacking in usefulness to those
who attach some value to the memory ofthe ancient stories.
Ifthe Library had been lost, like so many ofthe works reviewed
by Photius, we might feel some regret on reading these words;
asitis,wecanrefertotheoriginalandjudgeforourselveswhether
forthemodern readertooitfulfils theclaims thatPhotiusmakes
for it. These claims are by no means extravagant. It is indeed a
useful synopsis of the mythical history of Greece; and, it may
be added, it is based for the most part on good early sources,
and theauthorwascontenttosummarizethemashefound them