Author Description

The transformation of people into animals, plants, and stones is one of the most common and characteristic themes of Greek mythology, embodying as well some of the most mysterious and fantastic episodes in a mythology that is sometimes considered to be relatively realistic and lacking in fantasy. This book, the first study of these myths in English, analyzes the various ways in which they imagine and explore the experience of changing one's form. Irving's unusual approach is to look for their meaning not in long-forgotten rituals or historical events, but in their imaginative appeal as stories.