Comprehensive and scholarly, this well-designed text presents Greek and Roman myths in a lively and easy-to-read manner.  The material has been rearranged to make it easier to find and the new edition has been streamlined.   It features fresh translations, numerous illustrations (ancient and modern) of classical myths and legends, and commentary that emphasizes the anthropological, historical, religious, sociological, and economic contexts in which the myths were told.  It also provides a cultural context so that readers can see how mythology has influenced the world and how it continues to influence society today.  

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS   Preface   Part I  Definitions and Background 1.       The Nature of Myth 2.       The Cultural Context of Classical Myth 3.       The Development of Classical Myth   Part II  Divine Myth 4.       Myths of Creation: The Rise of Zeus 5.       Myths of Creation:The Origins of Mortals 6.       Myths of the Olympians: Zeus, His Wife Hera, and His Brothers 7.       Myths of the Olympians: The Male Deities 8.       Myths of the Olympians: The Female Deities 9.       Myths of Fertility: Demeter 10.     Myths of Fertility: Dionysus 11.     Myths of Death: Encounters with the Underworld   Part III Legends 12.      Introduction to Heroic Myth 13.      Perseus and Myths of the Argive Plain 14.      Heracles 15.      Theseus and the Myths of Athens 16.      The Myths of Crete 17.      Oedipus and the Myths of Thebes 18.      Jason and the Myths of Iolcus and Calydon 19.      The Trojan War 20.      The Fall of Troy and its Aftermath 21.      The Return of Odysseus   Part IV Roman Myth 22.      Legends of Aeneas 23.      Legends of Early Rome   Part V Interpretation 24.      Theories of Myth Interpretation   List of Perspectives 1.1    The Brothers Grimm 4.1    Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Children 4.2    The Biblical Creation Story 5.1    Prometheus and the Romantics 6.1    The Loves of Zeusin European Art  6.2    The Three Graces 7.1    Bernini’s Apollo and Daphnê 7.2    Pan and Pastoral Tradition 8.1    Venus: Images of Beautyin European Art   9.1    Rossetti’s Proserpina Holding the Pomegranate 9.2    H.D.’s “Adonis” 10.1  Titian’s Bacchus and Ariadnê 10.2  Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy 11.1  Michelangelo’s The Sibyl of Cumae 11.2  Dante’s Inferno 12.1  J.R.R. Tolkien’s Hero in The Lord of the Rings 13.1  Vasari’s Perseus and Andromeda 13.2  Classical Myth and the Stars 14.1  Daumier’s Hercules in the Augean Stables 15.1  Boccaccio’s Misfortunes of Famous Men 16.1  Picasso’s Minotauromachia 16.2  Brueghel’s The Fall of Icarus 17.1  Gustave Moreau’s Oedipus and the Sphinx 18.1  Seneca’s Medea 18.2  Delacroix’s Médée 19.1  Yeats’ “Leda and the Swan” 19.2  The Beauty of Helen 20.1  The Trojan War in European Art 20.2  Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida 21.1  Ulysses 21.2  The Legends of Odysseus in European Art   21.3  Cavafy’s “Ithaca” 22.1  Aeneas, Augustus, and Mussolini 23.1  David’s Oath of the Horatii 23.2  The Lucretia of Rembrandt and Shakespeare 24.1  Apuleius’ Allegory of Cupid and Psychê   Maps I.    The Ancient Mediterranean  (inside front cover) II.   Southern and Central Greece IV.  The Ancient Near East V.   Ancient Italy VI.  Imperial Rome VII. Greece, the Aegean, and Western Asia Minor  (inside back cover)