The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Partially based on H.J. Rose’s A Handbook of Greek Mythology Eighth edition

Now in its eighth edition, this magisterial work offers a comprehensive survey of the stories of Greek myth, from the Olympian gods, through the lesser gods and deities, to the heroes, adventures, and foundation myths of the ancient Greek world. __The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology__sets out to provide a comprehensive history of the divine order and mythical prehistory of Greece, as systematized on a genealogical basis by Hesiod and the ancient mythographers, while also taking into account the ways in which individual myths have changed and evolved over time in different genres of literature. This new edition has been extensively rewritten and reorganized to make it more accessible to readers who may have no particular knowledge of the ancient world and Greek mythology, and to ensure that information on each myth or mythical figure is easy to find within the book. This new edition of the handbook continues to offer an essential reference resource for all students of Greek mythology, and it provides an accessible and comprehensive overview of these stories for anyone with an interest in the classical world. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication Page 6 Table of Contents 8 List of Figures 13 Preface 15 Abbreviations 19 1 Sources for Greek myth 24 2 First beginnings and the Age of the Titans 40 First beginnings 41 The marriage of Earth and Sky 44 Cronos and the Titans 50 Notes 57 3 The three great divine families 59 The families founded by the Titans, the main children of Earth and Sky 59 The family of Earth and Sea 71 The family of Night 80 Notes 85 4 The rise of Zeus and revolts against his rule 89 How Zeus established himself as the supreme god 89 The marriage of Zeus and the completing of the Olympian circle 93 Revolts against Zeus and the Olympian order 99 Notes 112 5 Hades, Demeter, and the mythology of the Underworld 115 Hades, Persephone, and Demeter 115 The mythology of the Underworld 121 Other myths of Demeter 135 Notes 138 6 Hera, Hestia, and Poseidon 142 Hera, the wife of Zeus, and goddess of marriage 142 Hestia, the virgin goddess of the hearth 147 Poseidon, the lord of the seas and the earthquake 147 Notes 155 7 Apollo, Artemis, and Athena 157 Apollo and Artemis, the twin children of Leto 157 Athena, goddess of warfare and handicrafts 177 Notes 182 8 Dionysos, Hermes, Hephaistos, and Aphrodite 186 Dionysos, the god of wine and ecstasy 186 Hermes, the divine messenger and trickster 195 Hephaistos, the divine blacksmith 200 Aphrodite, the goddess of love 203 Notes 209 9 Lesser Deities and Nature-Spirits 213 The Muses 213 The Charites (Graces) and Horai (Seasons) 216 The Nymphs 218 The Satyrs and Seilenoi 220 Pan and his loves 222 Attis and Cybele; the Couretes and Corybantes 224 Some groups of minor divinities associated with the Greek islands 226 Glaucos, Priapos, and Hymenaios 227 Notes 230 10 The early mythical history of Argos 233 The first Inachids in Argos and in Egypt and Phoenicia 234 Danaos returns to Argos with his daughters, the Danaids 239 Proitos and Acrisios, and the arrival of Bellerophon and Melampous 243 Perseus and his immediate descendants 248 Notes 254 11 The life of Heracles 258 The birth of Heracles and his early life at Thebes 258 The twelve labours of Heracles 265 Heracles’ servitude to Omphale and major campaigns 281 The later life of Heracles in Central and Northern Greece 287 Notes 293 12 The return of the Heraclids 299 Eurystheus meets his own death while trying to eliminate the Heraclids 300 The return of the Heraclids is delayed until well after the Trojan War 301 The Heraclids invade the Peloponnese with their Dorian allies and draw lots for the three main kingdoms 302 The first Heraclid rulers of Sparta, Messenia, and Argos 304 How Heraclids came to establish ruling lines in Rhodes, Corinth, and Macedonia; Theras on the island of Thera 305 How the Neleids settled in Athens after being expelled from Messenia by the Heraclids, and gained leading positions there; the Ionian settlement of Asia Minor 307 Notes 308 13 Minos, Theseus and the myths of Crete 310 Minos, the Minotaur, and the young Theseus 310 The family of Minos and later kings of Crete 321 Notes 328 14 The kings of Athens 331 The reign and adventures of Theseus 331 The earlier kings of Athens 341 Notes 350 15 Theban mythology from Cadmos to Oedipus 354 Cadmos and the founding of Thebes 354 Regents and interlopers 360 The tragic history of Oedipus 365 Notes 371 16 The Theban Wars 375 The Seven against Thebes and the myth of Antigone 375 The second Theban War and its consequences 384 How the Theban Wars affected the dynastic history of Argos 390 Notes 393 17 The family of Deucalion and the hunt for the Calydonian boar 396 Deucalion and his family 397 Legends of Aetolia and the hunt for the Calydonian boar 403 Notes 412 18 Jason and the Argonauts 415 The golden fleece and why Jason was sent to fetch it 415 The voyage of the Argonauts 422 Jason and Medeia in Greece 434 Notes 437 19 The early Pelopids and the family of Achilles and Ajax 441 The early history of the Pelopids 442 Achilles, Ajax, and the Asopid family 448 Notes 458 20 The royal families of Troy and Sparta, and the origin of the Trojan War 462 The seven daughters of Atlas and their families 462 The Trojan royal family 464 The old Spartan royal family 469 The origin of the Trojan War 477 Notes 480 21 The Trojan War 483 The Greeks cross over the sea and lay siege to Troy 483 The first nine years of the conflict 490 Foreign allies and final confrontations 495 The fall of Troy and sack of the city 505 Notes 512 22 The return journeys of the Greek heroes 517 The returns of the Greeks 518 The wanderings of Odysseus 528 The murder of Agamemnon and later history of the Pelopids 536 Notes 543 23 Aeneas, Romulus, and the origins of Rome 548 Greek legends that associated Aineias with the founding of Rome, and their chronological implausibility 548 Aeneas’ travels and arrival in Latium as described by Vergil 551 Aeneas’ city of Lavinium, and his death and apotheosis 554 Ascanius, son of Aeneas, and the founding of Alba Longa 556 The Albam dynasty of the Silvii 557 The birth, exposure, and earlier life of Romulus and Remus 558 The twins set off to found Rome; the contest of the auguries, and the death of Remus 560 How Romulus acquired people for his new city; his conflict with the Sabines, and death and apotheosis 561 Notes 564 24 Legends of Arcadia and final miscellany 566 Legends of Arcadia 566 A final miscellany 576 Notes 598 Bibliographical note 603 Genealogical tables 606 GENERAL Index 626 The Great Olympian Gods 647 Now in its eighth edition, this magisterial work offers a comprehensive survey of the stories of Greek myth, from the Olympian gods, through the lesser gods and deities, to the heroes, adventures, and foundation myths of the ancient Greek world. The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology sets out to provide a comprehensive history of the divine order and mythical prehistory of Greece, as systematized on a genealogical basis by Hesiod and the ancient mythographers, while also taking into account the ways in which individual myths have changed and evolved over time in different genres of literature. This new edition has been extensively rewritten and reorganized to make it more accessible to readers who may have no particular knowledge of the ancient world and Greek mythology, and to ensure that information on each myth or mythical figure is easy to find within the book. This new edition of the handbook continues to offer an essential reference resource for all students of Greek mythology, and it provides an accessible and comprehensive overview of these stories for anyone with an interest in the classical world.