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 Zeus, His Wife Hera, and His Brother Poseidon 7.         Myths of the Great God Apollo 8.         Myths of Hermes, Pan, Hephaestus, Ares 9.         Myths of the Female Deities    10.       Myths of Fertility: Demeter and Related Myths    11.       Myths of Fertility: Dionysus    12.       Myths of Death: Encounters with the Underworld     PART III Legends   13.       Gilgamesh: Introduction to Heroic Myth   14.       Perseus and Myths of the Argive Plain    15.       Heracles    16        Theseus and the Myths of Athens    17.       The Myths of Crete    18.       Oedipus and the Myths of Thebes    19.       Jason and the Myths of Iolcus and Calydon    20.       The Trojan War    21.       The Fall of Troy and Its Aftermath    22.       The Return of Odysseus      PART IV Roman Myth   23. Legends of Aeneas     24. Legends of Early Rome   PART V Interpretation   25. Theories of Myth Interpretation      Reference Charts             Chronology of the Ancient World             The Greek and Roman Pantheon      Index      PERSPECTIVES   1.1       The "Myth of Atlantis" 1.2       The Brothers Grimm    2          Frank Miller's 300 4.1       Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Children    4.2       The Biblical Creation Story   5.1       Kratos: God of War 5.2       Prometheus and the Romantics    6.1       The Three Graces    6.2       The Loves of Zeus in European Art    (color insert) 7          Bernini’s Apollo and Daphnê    8          Pan and Pastoral Tradition    9          Venus: Images of Beauty in European Art    (color insert) 10.1     Rossetti’s Proserpina Holding the Pomegranate    10.2     H. D.’s “Adonis”    11.1     Titian’s Bacchus and Ariadnê    11.2     Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy 12.1     Vampires    12.2     Michelangelo’s The Sibyl of Cumae    12.3     Dante’s Inferno    13        J. R. R. Tolkien’s Modern Hero in The Lord of the Rings    14.1     Vasari’s Perseus and Andromeda    14.2     Classical Myth and the Stars    15        Daumier’s Hercules in the Augean Stables 16        Boccaccio’s Misfortunes of Famous Men    17.1     Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson 17.2     Picasso’s Minotauromachia    17.3     Brueghel’s The Fall of Icarus    18        Gustave Moreau’s Oedipus and the Sphinx    19.1     Seneca’s Medea    19.2     Delacroix’s Médée    20.1     Yeats’s “Leda and the Swan”    20.2     The Beauty of Helen    21.1     The Trojan War in European Art    (color insert) 21.2     Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida    22.1     Ulysses    22.2     The Legends of Odysseus in European Art    (color insert) 22.3     Cavafy’s “Ithaca”    23        Aeneas, Augustus, and Mussolini    24.1     David’s Oath of the Horatii    24.2     The Lucretia of Rembrandt and Shakespeare    25        Apuleius’ Allegory of Cupid and Psychê    MAPS   I.        The Ancient Mediterranean (inside front cover)  II.        Southern and Central Greece, chapter  2   III.       The Ancient Near East, chapter 3 IV.       The Argive Plain, chapter 14 V.        Heracles' Adventures in Greece, chapter 15 VI.       Locations of Heracles' Deeds Abroad, chapter 15 VII.      The Labors of Theseus, chapter 16 VIII. The Voyage of the Argo, chapter 19 IX.       The Troad, chapter 20 X.        Ancient Italy, chapter 23  XI.       The Travels of Aeneas, chapter 23 XII.      Imperial Rome, chapter 24   XIII.     Greece, the Aegean, and Western Asia Minor (inside back cover)   CHARTS   CHART 3 Near Eastern Gods and Goddesses CHART 4.1 The First Generation of Gods CHART 4.2 The Offspring of Gaea and Uranus CHART 4.3 The Offspring of Gaea and Pontus CHART 4.4 Hittite and Greek Theogonies Compared CHART 5 The Descent of the Greek Tribes from the Race of Titans CHART 6.1 The Twelve Olympians CHART 6.2 Zeus’s Divine Consorts and Their Children CHART 14 The Descent of Perseus CHART 15.1 The Descent of Heracles CHART 15.2 Heracles' Wives and Offspring CHART 16.1 Cecrops and His Descendants CHART 16.2 The House of Erichthonius CHART 17 The House of Crete CHART 18 The House of Cadmus CHART 19.1 The House of Aeolus CHART 19.2 The House of Calydon CHART 20.1 The House of Atreus CHART 20.2 The House of Tyndareüs CHART 20.3 The House of Troy