Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

Gods, heroes, and monsters, a sourcebook of Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern myths in translation, edited by Carolina López-Ruiz, The Ohio State University

eng

no index present

non fiction

Gods, heroes, and monsters

edited by Carolina López-Ruiz, The Ohio State University

a sourcebook of Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern myths in translation

Translation, Second Edition, presents essential Greek and Roman sources--including work from Homer, Hesiod, Virgil, and Ovid--alongside analogous narratives from the ancient Near East--Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Hittite kingdom, Ugarit, Phoenicia, and the Hebrew Bible. Some of the sources appear here in English translations for the first time. This collection stresses cultural continuities and comparisons, showing how Greek and Roman myths did not emerge in a vacuum but rather evolved from and interacted with their counterparts in the ancient Near East. Reinforcing this more inclusive definition of "classical," it is organized thematically, which allows readers to excamine each category of myth in a comparative and cross-cultural light. For example, "Part III: Epic Struggles: Gods, Heroes, and Monsters" provides sources that feature Greek heroes like Heracles, Apollo, Achilles, and Hector along with the Epic of Gilgamesh and other ancient Near Eastern selections that focus on the hero. Gods, Heroes, and Monsters, Second Edition. shows how the literature, inhabitants, and intellectual traditions of Greece and Rome and the ancient Near East were inextricably intertwined. The book is enhanced by a vibrant, full-color, 16-pg. photo insert, and many new translations by editor Carolina López-Ruiz and others

And so it began: Cosmologies and theogonies -- Mankind created, mankind destroyed -- Epic struggles: Gods, heroes, and monsters -- Of cities and peoples -- Eros and the labors of love -- Death and the afterlife journey