Author Description

A fascinating study of the world’s great myths and their impact on the creative arts through the ages, this insightful and absorbing book demonstrates the dynamic effect that ancient mythology has had on the creative efforts of succeeding centuries. Distinguished historian and classical scholar Michael Grant summarizes all the myths as well as the legends of the lesser gods and heroes, and traces their origins in historical fact or religious myth. He then shows how myths have continued to evolve throughout the ages. The author’s brilliant investigations lead from Pericles to Picasso, Homer to Freud, Apuleius to Grimm—and prove that mythological themes have been continuously restated in art, science, and folklore, up to the present day. Lively and fascinating, this in-depth study is complemented by maps, genealogical tables, and 64 pages of photographs. Included, too, are an appendix on additional myths, chapter notes, and an updated bibliography and index. “The special value of the book lies in [its] studies of the earlier and later history of the myths.... The study of origins takes Mr. Grant into many different fields, including archaeology and psychology as well as classical philology. He is well read and sure footed in all of them.”—London Times Literary Supplement