ABSTRACT
Three good dictionaries of classical mythology are currently available in English.The oldest is that of Pierre Grimal, which was first published in Paris in 1951; it has been issued in two English editions, as The Dictionary of Classical Mythology (Blackwell, Oxford, 1986, a full translation with references to ancient sources) and as The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology (1991, abridged with some alterations, without references). It is useful and generally reliable, if perhaps somewhat dull. An edition of Edward Tripp’s Meridian Handbook of Classical Mythology has recently been published in Britain as Collins Dictionary of Classical Mythology (2002). It concentrates for the most part on myths from the more accessible sources and main ancient anthologies, but is broader in its range of reference than the other two dictionaries in some other respects, for it includes entries on peoples, places and authors. Readers who have no special knowledge of the ancient world may find it particularly helpful for that reason. Jenny March’s Cassell Dictionary of Classical Mythology (London, 1998) is scholarly and accessible, a model of its kind; it is both enjoyable to dip into and useful as work of reference. Various other dictionaries have been published. William Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography (3 vols, London, 1844) is an old war-horse that deserves an honourable mention; and Richard Stoneman’s little dictionary, Greek Mythology (London, 1991) departs from the common pattern by including entries on post-classical legend and folklore. We must next turn to two authors who have produced well-known surveys of Greek myth in two volumes. Carl Kerényi’s Gods of the Greeks (London, 1951) and Heroes of the Greek (London, 1974) are works of strong individual character founded on an exhaustive knowledge of the ancient sources. Robert Graves’s Penguin guide, The Greek Myths (first published in 1955), makes attractive reading and conveys much solid information, but should be approached with extreme caution nonetheless. Although Graves was certainly well acquainted with the relevant ancient sources, he tended to run together material of diverse origin and value when constructing his summaries of the various bodies of myth, and the resulting narratives are by no means free of eccentric errors and arbitrary fancies. As for the explanatory notes, they are either the greatest single contribution that has ever been made to the interpretation of Greek myth or else a farrago of cranky nonsense; I fear that it would be impossible
in cloth, 1993, two volumes in paperback, 1996) can be recommended unreservedly as a comprehensive guide to the early mythical tradition; anyone who wants to trace the early development of Greek myths in the original sources will find it invaluable. Although it concentrates on archaic myth in particular, as the title would suggest, it takes due account of the standard later tradition as reported by authors such as Apollodorus and Hyginus; the artistic record is primarily referred to in so far as it provides the earliest evidence for myths or for specific variants or motifs. Full and detailed information on the ancient artistic representations of myths and figures from myth can be found in the magnificent volumes of the Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (1981 onward). The various publications of Karl Schefold (some of which have been translated into English, see below) can also be very helpful in this regard. The other main reference works on Greek myth are German works of long standing. An exhaustive analysis of the entire corpus of Greek heroic mythology is provided by Carl Robert in Die griechische Heldensage (3 vols, Berlin, 1920-6; = Griechische Mythologie 2, and originally undertaken as a revision of the work of that title by Ludwig Preller). Alas, it has no index. The most comprehensive articles on individual figures from Greek mythology are to be found in two German encyclopaedias, Roscher’s Lexicon, which is devoted exclusively to classical mythology, and the great Realencyclopädie, which is a general encyclopaedia of classical civilization. The former (W.H. Roscher (ed.), Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie) was published in six volumes with four supplements at Leipzig from 1884 to 1937. The articles tended to get longer and more detailed as the work progressed. Although the interpretations (especially in the earlier volumes) often appeal to outdated theories of nature-symbolism, the articles provide very useful and often very thorough surveys of the mythological traditions associated with major and minor figures from classical myth and legend. The corresponding articles in the eighty volumes of ‘Pauly-Wissowa’ (Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, Stuttgart, 1894-1963) naturally show some variation in their comprehensiveness and quality, but this is generally one of the richest resources available to the mythologist. The abridged version, Der Kleine Pauly, edited in five volumes by W. Sontheimer and K. Ziegler (Stuttgart, 1964), can also be very helpful, especially in hunting references.
