In one of two boxed features in this chapter, Buxton offers a useful definition of a myth as “a socially powerful traditional story” (p. The first chapter is called “Contexts, Sources, Meanings” and it outlines, as the title suggests, some general aspects about Greek myth(s). Although there are moments when this book can read like another dictionary or handbook on Greek myth(s), it usually rises above such fare with observations which offer the general reader a more sophisticated engagement than usual with Greek mythology.Ī brief introductory chapter outlines clearly the scope and content of the book which is dealt with in seven chapters: “Contexts, Sources, Meanings”, “Myths of Origin”, “The Olympians: Power, Honour, Sexuality”, “Heroic Exploits”, “Family Sagas”, “A Landscape of Myths” and “Greek Myths after the Greeks”. In the introduction he says that his objective is to “to offer a comprehensive picture of the world of Greek mythology”, a world which he describes as “the imaginative contours and horizons, the motifs and recurrent concerns, which lent meaning to the stories” (p. It is a contribution to a Thames and Hudson’s series The Complete World of and Buxton is under no illusions about the problem posed by the presence of ‘complete’ in the title. This book, which is intended for a non-academic readership, is an excellent introduction to Greek mythology.
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