The deities of the ancient world--from the famous denizens of Olympus to anonymous river nymphs and sea monsters--populate the pages of this classic guide. A richly readable and informative history, it is drawn mostly from the epics of Homer and the works of Apollodoros, an Athenian scholar of the second century. Not only does it define the myths in terms of their influence on Western literature, it also depicts the role of the deities in everyday life, from the earliest tribal rites to the grand festivals of Graeco-Roman civilization. Each of the gods, primary and lesser, receives an individual chapter that recounts both the Greek origins and the later Roman adaptations. Unabridged republication of the classic 1891 edition.
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