Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton
My rating: 0 of 5 stars
This book, widely recognized as a classic – or perhaps the classic – in the field of mythology, provides not just Hamilton’s scholarship over a lifetime of classical myths; it provides Hamilton’s outlay for how to live the good life. She respects and admires the Greek and Roman cultures whose myths she portrays – so much so that she attempts to convince the reader of their nobility and ability to transform contemporary life.
Mythology in an age of science has its own issues. Nonetheless, we as a culture have certain archetypal stories that we share so as to maintain social cohesion from neighbor-to-neighbor. Phrases like “the girl next door,” “listen to the siren-song,” or “a Trojan horse” all harken to prior stories in our cultural memory. Some of these go as far back as Greco-Roman mythology. Hamilton brings these allusions to life and remind us of our cultural debt to those who lived thousands of years ago.
It’s amazing to think of how much we owe, particularly to the Greeks as intellectual originators and less so to the Romans as cultural progenitors. How did this small island people bring about such enlightenment that students still study their materials in modern America today (e.g., Euclid’s Geometry)? Why Greece, of all places? Mythology does not answer all these questions. Instead, it brings us along the way as it tells a story of civilization, of humanity, and of ourselves.