Book Review: Mythology by Edith Hamilton

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton

This great overview of stories from western mythology is mostly focused on Greek mythology which has such a strong literary tradition from the era before Christ. Roman mythology is mixed in with the Greek since it often overlaps or has continuations, like how the Aeneid follows Aeneas's travels after the Trojan War ends in the Iliad. Hamilton is selective in her sources, looking for the most full accounts. She refashions the texts of Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, and others to tell the stories of the gods and heroes of the ancient world. The last fifteen pages review some of the Norse mythology which is very different from the Greco-Roman works and is more closely related (at least linguistically) to the English-speaking world.

The book brings to life concise reviews and retellings of classic myths, both familiar and unfamiliar. Her style is very personable and she is aware of her biases. Ovid is too bombastic and over-the-top for her, though she does use him when he's more restrained or the only source. The book ends with family trees for the gods and heroes as well as an index to look up the stories and characters.

Highly recommended--this is a a great review of ancient Greco-Roman mythology.