Myths

The Myths section collects the stories of Greek mythology and the people, creatures and places that fill them. Most of what survives comes from a few ancient authors: Homer and Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, the tragedians, and the handbook known as Apollodorus’ Library, which retells the older traditions in order.

How the section is organised

Heroes such as Achilles, Perseus and Theseus have their own pages, and the Mortals pages cover kings, queens and ordinary people caught up in divine affairs, from Agamemnon and Cadmus to Antigone and Cassandra. Figures gathers characters who fit neither group, Monsters covers beasts such as the Minotaur and the Sphinx, and Creatures holds the centaurs, satyrs and other half-human beings. Places describes settings such as Athens, Thebes and Troy. Elements deals with objects and substances, among them the Aegis and the Golden Fleece, while Roman gathers figures from Roman tradition. The Gigantes have a section of their own, as do the lovers of Zeus. Popular holds lists and overviews, and the zodiac, planet, movie and Norse pages sit beside the Greek material.

Longer stories

Several pages follow a story from start to finish, including the Ages of Man, the Argonauts, the Trojan War and the Adventures of Perseus. They are a good place to begin if you want an episode in full rather than one person’s biography.

Reading the versions

The same story is often told differently by different authors, so each page gives the main version first and names the source of any variant.

See Also: Heroes, Mortals, Monsters, Places, Trojan War, Argonauts, Greek Gods