Table Of Content

Cover Page: i Half-Title Page: i Title Page: iii Copyright Page: iv Dedication Page: v Contents Page: vii List of figures Page: xi Preface Page: xiii Abbreviations Page: xviii 1 Sources for Greek myth Page: xxii 2 First beginnings and the Age of the Titans Page: 16 First beginnings Page: 18 The marriage of Earth and Sky Page: 21 Cronos and the Titans Page: 27 Notes Page: 34 3 The three great divine families Page: 35 The families founded by the Titans, the main children of Earth and Sky Page: 36 The family of Earth and Sea Page: 48 The family of Night Page: 57 Notes Page: 62 4 The rise of Zeus and revolts against his rule Page: 65 How Zeus established himself as the supreme god Page: 66 The marriage of Zeus and the completing of the Olympian circle Page: 70 Revolts against Zeus and the Olympian order Page: 76 Notes Page: 89 5 Hades, Demeter, and the mythology of the Underworld Page: 91 Hades, Persephone, and Demeter Page: 92 The mythology of the Underworld Page: 98 Other myths of Demeter Page: 112 Notes Page: 115 6 Hera, Hestia, and Poseidon Page: 118 Hera, the wife of Zeus, and goddess of marriage Page: 119 Hestia, the virgin goddess of the hearth Page: 124 Poseidon, the lord of the seas and the earthquake Page: 124 Notes Page: 132 7 Apollo, Artemis, and Athena Page: 133 Apollo and Artemis, the twin children of Leto Page: 134 Athena, goddess of warfare and handicrafts Page: 154 Notes Page: 159 8 Dionysos, Hermes, Hephaistos, and Aphrodite Page: 162 Dionysos, the god of wine and ecstasy Page: 163 Hermes, the divine messenger and trickster Page: 172 Hephaistos, the divine blacksmith Page: 177 Aphrodite, the goddess of love Page: 180 Notes Page: 186 9 Lesser Deities and Nature-Spirits Page: 189 The Muses Page: 190 The Charites (Graces) and Horai (Seasons) Page: 193 The Nymphs Page: 195 The Satyrs and Seilenoi Page: 197 Pan and his loves Page: 199 Attis and Cybele; the Couretes and Corybantes Page: 201 Some groups of minor divinities associated with the Greek islands Page: 203 Glaucos, Priapos, and Hymenaios Page: 204 Notes Page: 207 10 The early mythical history of Argos Page: 209 The first Inachids in Argos and in Egypt and Phoenicia Page: 211 Danaos returns to Argos with his daughters, the Danaids Page: 216 Proitos and Acrisios, and the arrival of Bellerophon and Melampous Page: 220 Perseus and his immediate descendants Page: 225 Notes Page: 231 11 The life of Heracles Page: 234 The birth of Heracles and his early life at Thebes Page: 235 The twelve labours of Heracles Page: 242 Heracles’ servitude to Omphale and major campaigns Page: 258 The later life of Heracles in Central and Northern Greece Page: 264 Notes Page: 270 12 The return of the Heraclids Page: 275 Eurystheus meets his own death while trying to eliminate the Heraclids Page: 277 The return of the Heraclids is delayed until well after the Trojan War Page: 278 The Heraclids invade the Peloponnese with their Dorian allies and draw lots for the three main kingdoms Page: 279 The first Heraclid rulers of Sparta, Messenia, and Argos Page: 281 How Heraclids came to establish ruling lines in Rhodes, Corinth, and Macedonia; Theras on the island of Thera Page: 282 How the Neleids settled in Athens after being expelled from Messenia by the Heraclids, and gained leading positions there; the Ionian settlement of Asia Minor Page: 284 Notes Page: 285 13 Minos, Theseus and the myths of Crete Page: 286 Minos, the Minotaur, and the young Theseus Page: 287 The family of Minos and later kings of Crete Page: 298 Notes Page: 305 14 The kings of Athens Page: 307 The reign and adventures of Theseus Page: 308 The earlier kings of Athens Page: 318 Notes Page: 327 15 Theban mythology from Cadmos to Oedipus Page: 330 Cadmos and the founding of Thebes Page: 331 Regents and interlopers Page: 337 The tragic history of Oedipus Page: 342 Notes Page: 348 16 The Theban Wars Page: 351 The Seven against Thebes and the myth of Antigone Page: 352 The second Theban War and its consequences Page: 361 How the Theban Wars affected the dynastic history of Argos Page: 367 Notes Page: 370 17 The family of Deucalion and the hunt for the Calydonian boar Page: 372 Deucalion and his family Page: 374 Legends of Aetolia and the hunt for the Calydonian boar Page: 380 Notes Page: 389 18 Jason and the Argonauts Page: 391 The golden fleece and why Jason was sent to fetch it Page: 392 The voyage of the Argonauts Page: 399 Jason and Medeia in Greece Page: 411 Notes Page: 414 19 The early Pelopids and the family of Achilles and Ajax Page: 417 The early history of the Pelopids Page: 419 Achilles, Ajax, and the Asopid family Page: 425 Notes Page: 435 20 The royal families of Troy and Sparta, and the origin of the Trojan War Page: 438 The seven daughters of Atlas and their families Page: 439 The Trojan royal family Page: 441 The old Spartan royal family Page: 446 The origin of the Trojan War Page: 454 Notes Page: 457 21 The Trojan War Page: 459 The Greeks cross over the sea and lay siege to Troy Page: 460 The first nine years of the conflict Page: 467 Foreign allies and final confrontations Page: 472 The fall of Troy and sack of the city Page: 482 Notes Page: 489 22 The return journeys of the Greek heroes Page: 493 The returns of the Greeks Page: 495 The wanderings of Odysseus Page: 505 The murder of Agamemnon and later history of the Pelopids Page: 513 Notes Page: 520 23 Aeneas, Romulus, and the origins of Rome Page: 524 Greek legends that associated Aineias with the founding of Rome, and their chronological implausibility Page: 525 Aeneas’ travels and arrival in Latium as described by Vergil Page: 528 Aeneas’ city of Lavinium, and his death and apotheosis Page: 531 Ascanius, son of Aeneas, and the founding of Alba Longa Page: 533 The Albam dynasty of the Silvii Page: 534 The birth, exposure, and earlier life of Romulus and Remus Page: 535 The twins set off to found Rome; the contest of the auguries, and the death of Remus Page: 537 How Romulus acquired people for his new city; his conflict with the Sabines, and death and apotheosis Page: 538 Notes Page: 541 24 Legends of Arcadia and final miscellany Page: 542 Legends of Arcadia Page: 543 A final miscellany Page: 553 Notes Page: 575 Bibliographical note Page: 580 Genealogical tables Page: 582 General index Page: 603 The Great Olympian Gods Page: 623

Description:

Now in its eighth edition, this magisterial work offers a comprehensive survey of the stories of Greek myth, from the Olympian gods, through the lesser gods and deities, to the heroes, adventures, and foundation myths of the ancient Greek world. The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology sets out to provide a comprehensive history of the divine order and mythical prehistory of Greece, as systematized on a genealogical basis by Hesiod and the ancient mythographers, while also taking into account the ways in which individual myths have changed and evolved over time in different genres of literature. This new edition has been extensively rewritten and reorganized to make it more accessible to readers who may have no particular knowledge of the ancient world and Greek mythology, and to ensure that information on each myth or mythical figure is easy to find within the book. This new edition of the handbook continues to offer an essential reference resource for all students of Greek mythology, and it provides an accessible and comprehensive overview of these stories for anyone with an interest in the classical world.