Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman mythology / Mike Dixon-Kennedy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dixon-Kennedy, Mike, 1958-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mythology, Classical--Encyclopedias.

Mythology, Classical.

Genre:

Encyclopedias.

Physical Description:

xv, 370 pages ; 26 cm

Other Title:

Greco-Roman mythology

Place of Publication:

Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, [1998]

Summary:

The power and the glory of ancient Greece and Rome faded long ago, but their mythologies live on in popular culture. We drive cars named after Mercury, the winged messenger of the gods. We study martial arts, named for Mars, the Roman god of war, in February, we celebrate the love brought to us by Cupid. And we still call a serious weakness an Achilles's heel.

ABC-CLIO's Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology gathers the myths and legends of Greek and Roman culture into a single authoritative volume. In addition to Greco-Roman myths, readers will find characters and events from related traditions -- Greco-Egyptian, Romano-Celtic and more -- as well as astronomical information that allows users to link the myths and legends to the celestial objects named for them Here's a sampling of what readers will discover along the way: -- Nysa, a Libyan mountain. Dionysus is said to have invented wine while living with nymphs on Nysa.-- Eleusis, important center of worship in fifth-century Greece. Eleusinian Mysteries, based on the worship of Demeter and Persephone, were extremely popular then.-- The Hellenes. Their conquest of the Grecian region was made remarkably simple by their mastery of horses and wheeled vehicles.-- Abderus, Hercules's friend, was devoured by the flesh-eating mares of Diomedes. Hercules named the city of Abdera in honor of his deceased friend.-- Triton, the Greek lake where Zeus suffered an agonizing headache. Hephaistos cleaved open Zeus's skull, whereupon Athena, fully grown and armed, sprang from the wound.-- Numina, the Roman generic name for spirits of creatures and plants. In humans, the numina was the breath, the spirit of the body. Upon death, a person's numina was reincarnated in plants.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 331-339) and index.

ISBN:

1576070948

1576071294

OCLC:

39875139