Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Unavailable
Mythology
Unavailable
Mythology
Unavailable
Mythology
Audiobook14 hours

Mythology

Written by Edith Hamilton

Narrated by Suzanne Toren

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

The world-renowned classic that has enthralled and delighted millions of readers with its timeless tales of gods and heroes.

Edith Hamilton's mythology succeeds like no other book in bringing to life for the modern reader the Greek, Roman and Norse myths that are the keystone of Western culture-the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present.

We follow the drama of the Trojan War and the wanderings of Odysseus. We hear the tales of Jason and the Golden Fleece, Cupid and Psyche, and mighty King Midas. We discover the origins of the names of the constellations. And we recognize reference points for countless works for art, literature and culture inquiry-from Freud's Oedipus complex to Wagner's Ring Cycle of operas to Eugene O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra

Both a reference text for scholars of all ages and a book to simply enjoy, Mythology is a classic not to be missed.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 30, 2013
ISBN9781611139280
Unavailable
Mythology

Related to Mythology

Related audiobooks

Related articles

Reviews for Mythology

Rating: 3.9418171185438706 out of 5 stars
4/5

1,607 ratings56 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Edith Hamilton's Mythology is great reference to have on hand for broad overview of everything in Greek mythology. However, while very thorough, there is something about it that feels cramped, almost as though one had walked into a collection of mythology that was at the threshold of hoarding.Her storytelling style is fun, and her stories are peppered with useful and interesting tidbits about ancient Greek culture. The language, while a bit dated now, is nevertheless modern and accessible. Her wry sense of humor surfaces now and again, always leaving me wishing she'd allowed a bit more of it into the book.I've never been entirely clear why the bit about Norse mythology is included at the end. It's so simple as to be pointless. It would have been more interesting had she included an in-depth analysis of the differences between the two, rather than vaguely indicating that they were, indeed, culturally different in some ways.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Edith Hamilton provides a good overview of mythology and all the basics. This used to be required reading for 8th graders (to teach) but it has since been pushed to the side, which I was quite happy about. It's a bit much for 8th graders in many ways and there's a point where you have to put the book down and read some other things because it's one mythological tale after the other and quite dense.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is one my my childhood favorites. I have a paperback copy that has accompanied me through life from age seven.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Upsides: Contains very many stories. Very clearly told. Hamilton mentions the primary sources she used for each myth (which ancient playwrights, authors, etc. she draws from).Downsides: Hamilton can be terse, covering even very large stories such as the Odyssey in a few pages. There is little color or flavor to the events: things are stripped to the bare essence, for brevity.Neutral: Hamilton includes her own commentary on how the myths illustrate or reflect her views of cultural development. I found the commentary neither significantly added to nor significantly detracted from the work.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While this is a good introduction to mythology, I thought it could have gone further with both Greek and Norse mythology. I was especially disappointed at how little Norse mythology was in the book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Edith Hamilton really knew how to put things into perspective and dig deep into the world's mythology.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Some students may find Edith Hamilton's writing style tough-going, but once getting through the appositive phrases and built-up clauses, the content is worthwhile. The author prefers clearly demarcated stories, so she cautions readers not to concern themselves with Ovid. Myths serve two primary tasks: to explain the nature of the universe in relation to humankind, and to provide pure entertainment for contributing to the zest of life. Hamilton does a decent job summarizing the more important ancient Greek myths, while sprinkling in some minor stories that still have redeeming qualities for edification. Although one can find more basic summaries with less verbiage (see Olivia Coolidge), the introductory essay gives a reliable interpretation that places the canon of myths in perspective to the birth of modern science. Hamilton respects these traditional stories, and addresses them within the wider sphere of understanding the human psyche. If anything for this latter reason, her book should be primary reading for all who seek a grounding in the world of Greek mythology.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a very good launching point for any interest in mythology. It doesn't offer a whole lot of viewpoints and, in some cases, goes so far to state there aren't other sources available when there most certainly are. My biggest problem with it was the near total lack of citations. In many/most cases it tells you who the author was where she got her source, but rarely does she tell you the actual literary work (with the exception of the Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid). The language is also strangely archaic, despite the work's relative recency. Very good overview of mythology though. Just don't take everything it says as the gospel truth.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was the best book on mythology that I've read. Hamilton was so knowledgable, and such an impeccable researcher, yet her writing is so accessible that tweens would probably have no problem with this book.I've added this to my list of favorites. This is a book that I will not be parting with. I'm sure I'll be referring to it, and re-reading it in the future.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I have to talk about this book on two levels. On the first level is considering the book as a collection of paraphrases of Greek and Roman mythology. On this level, it's a perfectly adequate book and serves as a decent reference source for a reader that might run across allusions to Theseus, Ariadne, or Agamemnon in other readings. Hamilton covers a wide breadth of myths in relatively brief space and keeps the language at a level that makes comprehensible for a non-academic.The second level is about the tone Hamilton uses when she talks about myths, writers, and Norse mythology as a whole. It is not good. She comes across as condescending, pretentious, and superior, and for reasons that escape me, includes "the important parts" of Norse mythology in just 10 pages or so. In talking about one Greek writer, she describes him as "boring, but less boring in this tale." A lot of this is likely the product of this book being originally published in 1942 but the lack of cultural relativism drove me a little crazy. My view of the book is particularly tainted by this as the Norse mythology section is at the end and this approach of Hamilton's is in strongest evidence there. If you're looking for a decent reference source on Greek mythology, this isn't bad to get the gist of the myths, but don't look at it for criticism of the literature.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    After reading this book I feel that it is more advance then 'Heroes, Gods, and Monsters'. I feel that I learned a lot more about greek gods that I didn't know, and what I did know is a different variation of the story. Above all I really enoyed this book and it was very informative.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In what is quite possibly one of the best, or at least, most renowned book on Greco-Roman mythology, Hamilton has presented here in an easy-to-digest format the high points of what happened on Mt. Olympus (and why it didn't stay on Mt. Olympus).It's by no means exhaustive, but is otherwise a very informative source to get your feet wet in the world of Greco-Roman mythology. Additionally, it's a place to get your feet ever-so-slightly damp in the world of Norse mythology, as the section covering such seems more an afterthought than an appendix than an actual resource on the complex system that is Norse mythology.If you're looking into the Greco-Roman, this is a great book to at least start, and at most, to complete that collection. If you're looking into the Norse, I'd recommend this book only if you can't manage to find any others about the topic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Classic mythology told as stories. Consider reading this as basic education to be able to recognize the infinite references to the ancient stories used in everyday life and modern story telling (including movies, tvs, plays, music, etc.) - though I am probably stating the obvious. This gives a solid grounding in the mythos of western civilizations.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I first read this book in my highschool Latin class--long ago when I thought I might have made it through a 2nd year of Latin. The dumbed-down sheeple of my society don't put any value on myths, or much of anything but psychotropics and entertainment. Something priceless lays here. These stories are extremely important to understanding ourselves, our past, our planispheres, and the future. Without sounding too Sitchin-like, I will simply say that these are the rememberances of the b'nai Elohim, amongst other things. Ms. Hamilton provides us an excellent place to start to understand our (un)reality. Don't drink too much of the Eleusian blue potion, and enjoy the illustrations. The myths of other cultures, times, and places await you; all holding a golden thread of uniformity.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a standard reference of mythology and the Greek and Roman gods. It is great for younger people who are getting interested in the subject and covers everything well.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I didn't completely read through this entirely, half the fun and education was skimming through and relearning much of what I retained a few years back. I enjoyed how it was structured and how it basically took you back in time to that mysterious place of the minds of humanity. It brings you into a state of mind in which you can imagine the artists who created these figures and makes you feel like an anthropologist in the meantime.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The companion volume to my 6th grade Latin grammar. If you have to read only one book to get up to speed on Greek & Roman mythology, this is the one.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love this book. Hamilton's tellings of Greek myth never get old for me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    For accuracy, deft comparisons, thoroughness of research, clarity of thought, and imaginative fluid writing, this is THE source for mythology. I have read and re-read this for years.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was planning to use this book to help study for my GRE in English test, but found it not terribly good for that purpose. The book is well-written and easy to read, and covers and summarizes most of the pertinent myths and legends of Greek and Roman literature--but it's too long to be a summary. If I didn't want to read the original to get a particular story, I would go here--but I think I'd much rather read Ovid or Homer, even if it is more challenging.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If only to cover your bases for Trivial Pursuit and/or Jeopardy, this book is worth reading and keeping as a reference. It's been awhile since I read it in 9th grade as a preface to The Odyssey and Julius Caesar, but I remember it being a very easy-to-read, almost Cliff's Notes version of the stories of the Greek Gods. Even if you don't think you'll ever use the trivia, the stories are interesting enough to read for the sake of reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was into mythology for a spell way back in my grade school days. I read every mythology book we had in the school library, including this tome. I didn't recall anything specific about it save the name, which I have seen mentioned on and off through the years. Either Ms. Hamilton has a great press agent or she knows her stuff about mythology. Anyway, when I wanted to read a source book for The Argonaut Affair, it was a no brainer to pick this one up. I had really forgotten how good some of those stories are. And as an adult I could now also appreciate Ms. Hamilton's comments on mythology in general and the various sources she used to assemble her own book. While I couldn't quite share her enthusiasm for the subject, it was enjoyable to hear her lovingly present these tales from ancient Greece and Rome. (and a brief nod to Norse mythology) While my girls already have some great mythology books, written by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, I'm going to keep this one on my shelf for them as well.--J.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hamilton is really easy to read, she's the text we used in high school to introduce us to "Julius Ceasar" (?!) A great introductory text. I still refer to it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love you, Edith Hamilton. One of several copies that I lifted from Miss LaDuca's 1986-87 Cretin High School freshman english class.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a fantastic book! It makes Greek mythology very accessible to the non academic. ? It was nice to have a Norse mythology section at the end, I only wish it was longer.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Scholarly in a way that most retellings of the Greek, Roman, and Norse myths are not. A discussion of the originals of many of the stories, with commentary. Quotations from translations of the poets. A discussion of the purpose and meaning of the myths and what place they have in our cultural heritage.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A instant classic on my bookshelf!!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Classic mythology told as stories. Consider reading this as basic education to be able to recognize the infinite references to the ancient stories used in everyday life and modern story telling (including movies, tvs, plays, music, etc.) - though I am probably stating the obvious. This gives a solid grounding in the mythos of western civilizations.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    If you have any interest in Mythology, this is your go-to book. It's well organized and very readable and gives you a great overview with a heavy emphasis on the Greeks.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this as a child and was instantly fascinated and taken away by it. Since then I have read much more and heavier books on the subject. None of them take away from Hamilton's. This is a good read that will point you in the direction of similar subject matter. What makes this volume nice is the lesser known stories that take Mythology out of the box.