Fuck your Mythology meme

I'm already like 15 pages into the Iliad. It's actually an intersting and good book.

Mythology by Edith Hamilton is a bore.

Seems like the clear path is to read the actual Iliad and whenever it reference something from Mythology such as the Naiads, you just wikipedia it quickly and then you can actually continue with your book within 25 sec.

are you the guy who posted pics with iliad, odyssey, virgil in trilogy box and other greek books?

yes

i meant this picture

lel why did you save it

just checked stack thread in history and ctrl-f'd "let it begin."
i purchased the book yesterday from amazon and im afraid i got meme'd as well.

Hahaha.

Not him, I read Mythology, it's solid, very simple book that gives you some nice information on the Greek myths.

It would probably me more useful to lowly plebs that have no idea of the Greek pantheon at all, but I still enjoyed it.

alright

I'm not very far into it though so maybe it gets better. Now it just seems like a book listing all the Gods with their wives and their daughters/sons. Don't see how you're supposed to remember them all or why you even should try.(except maybe the 12 Olympians)

Hopefully it actually gets good. Haven't even gotten to the stories yet, so maybe I spoke too soon.

Maybe don't do what I did, by starting to read some of the Iliad. Now I just want to get done with this book so I can actually continue what seemed like a great book(Iliad).

At least you didn't get rused into reading The Power of Myth. I say a prayer every night for the salvation of the brain cells I lost reading that piece of shit.

It's wholly unnecessary for the Iliad. It's just interesting in its own right.

Why the fuck are you reading about something which you obviously have no interest in?

Why the fuck are you reading books ABOUT mythology? And not the mythology itself? Pic related is what you wanted.

>Fabulae consists of some three hundred very brief and plainly, even crudely told myths and celestial genealogies,[2] made by an author who was characterized by his modern editor, H. J. Rose, as adulescentem imperitum, semidoctum, stultum—"an ignorant youth, semi-learned, stupid"—but valuable for the use made of works of Greek writers of tragedy that are now lost. Arthur L. Keith, reviewing H. J. Rose's edition (1934) of Hygini Fabulae,[3] wondered "at the caprices of Fortune who has allowed many of the plays of an Aeschylus, the larger portion of Livy's histories, and other priceless treasures to perish, while this school-boy's exercise has survived to become the pabulum of scholarly effort." Hyginus' compilation represents in primitive form what every educated Roman in the age of the Antonines was expected to know of Greek myth, at the simplest level. The Fabulae are a mine of information today, when so many more nuanced versions of the myths have been lost.

>tfw in the far distant future my shitposts will be the only remaining source on Greek mythology

The entire starting with the Greeks meme is a STEMfag approach to literature. If you really need someone to tell you where to start, start with Barthes so you can stop needing that.

The reason why I wake up desu.

My favorite story is the one about Narcissus.

people like you are so depressing.

Is it really that bad? I just got my copy today. Only ordered it because Barnes & Noble was practically giving it away; $4 for a hardcover seemed too good to pass up.

Well I didn't really start with the greeks seeing how my shelf is already full but I did want to read the Iliad, Odyssey and the Aeneid and the recurring meme was that I ought to read Mythology before I do that. One forced book to be able to properly read those 3 didn't seem so bad.

Anyway I'll keep trying to read Mythology. But having already read half of the first chapter of the Iliad, the book sits there on my shelf, calling for me. I'm already a captive of its beauty.

Should I still read Hamilton if I plan to read Apollodorus's Library, Ovid's Metamorphoses and Hesiod's Theogony and Work and Days, and I already have a fairly good background on mythology?

In other words, is Hamilton's Mythology valuable as a stand-alone work, or is it just for reference in case you lack any knowledge of mythology?

No. Hamilton is for teenagers and plebs

No.

She gathered most of the info from Homer, Hesiod and Ovid anyway.

I'm trying to imagine a mind so immune to glory that it could be bored by its first foray into Greek myth. Keep reading, and I hope you'll soon start to enjoy yourself. Besides, this is basic foundational stuff. Virtually every single author or poet from antiquity to 1920 knew these myths and gods like old friends, and drew images, archetypes, relationships, allusions, etc., from them freely. They hold Western literature together, and knowing them isn't optional.

Because we all try so hard to be important that nobody likes us. So we sucker you in to wasting your life like we did, and becoming absolutely worthless like we are. That way, rather than admit it and change yourself, you can join us in the storytime circlejerk and make us feel valid.

No university uses Hamilton's Mythology. Let that sink in.

First, any sentence starting "no university" is bullshit you're making up. Second, so what? It's a good intro text, and OP obviously isn't ready for anything better yet.

No university implements a pro-buttsex policy in the classroom.

lel at that Aeneid.

>tfw you try to correct the retardation of Penguin for not lining up the backs in the boxset

see

>Doesn't enjoy tedious lists and factoids
>"Heh, yer not ready for the big leegs kiddo!"

Please stop pretending your autism is a virtue

Meh, I haven't done a survey. UCLA wouldn't surprise me.

>greek
>big three
>egypt
I am not ashamed to say that is probably the most idiotic thing I have seen. Sure you have some variety, but why in the fuck would you focus on the Greeks? In this year when there is never more mythology readily available and being discovered you stick to some of the most pleb shit out there.

Good job, friend.

I WANT A BIONICLE NOW! REEEEEEEEEEE!

>lel

Official Rankings:
Graves > Bulfinch > Hamilton

not true: better yet is critical analysis of different sources of mythology from ovid, yes, but homer, hesiod, plato, appolodorus, herodorus, and the rest.

read: hansen's "classical mythology" for a better alternative to hamilton's "mythology", and some variant of a classical myth anthology which has your both major and minor players as far as primary sources go. near eastern myths like enuma elish and the epic of gilgamesh should be in there.

other than those two, which should give you a big overview of everything, consider reading a brief history of the ancient world, ovid's metamorphoses, the works of homer and hesiod, maybe the relevant works by plato (myth of er among others), and any other gaps you will certainly find as you work through the texts.

secondary lit is nice if you're not too keen on your reading comprehension and knowledge, and also the bible and perhaps reception theory--how did later cultures, e.g. the hellenists, romans, future non-pagan cultures, appropriate, destroy, react to, and praise these myths, and why?

or: just read mythology, iliad and odyssey and get on with it. life is short.

These are good posts. I can't understand lit's fascination with this book, it's bad and like OP said, you are better reading Wikipedia articles about the mentions.
Ask a university professor to see if he recommends Hamilton's Mythology to you. He won't, because it's not good.
This is much better

>reading Bulfinch in 2016

Buxton > Fritz Graf > Hamilton >>>> Bulfinch

2016+1

>in 2016

user....

>he got meme'd into buying one of the worst books of comparative mythology out there

>being this much of a pleb

>comparative mythology
>hamilton's mythology

pick one

I've read a variety of mythologies, but your comments make no fucking sense. Greek and Roman myth is far and away the most influential to Western lit, and the most often referenced and used. Besides, my other mythology texts are on other shelves. But if you think classical myth is "pleb shit," there's no point discussing anything with you.

>Owning what is quite possible the single worst edition of the book of the dead available on the market
I'm sorry for your loss user.

Holy shit it's been a long time since I thought about those things

We tried to fucking warn you. There is absolutely no reason to read Hamilton because it's just a tl;dr of all the greek works you should be reading anyway.

I FUCKING WARNED YOU ALL DOZENS OF TIMES.

What the fuck? I'm reading it right now and it isn't that bad.

pirate it to check next time lil nigga

I'm reading through it now and I thought it was interesting. And it's not just pages upon pages of names, there's stories and descriptions tied in so you get a sense of what the God/Godess represented.

Considering how much I've heard the names and bits of the stories it was really interesting. The story of Thisbe and Pyramus caught me off guard since I've only ever heard of Romeo and Juliet when it comes to that sort of story.

I literally read that book for English when I was 15. You should try not being a moron.

No one's saying it's too hard, we're saying it's dry, uninspired, and redundant.

Shit someone that has read enuma Elisha. Have you read the tablets about Inanna? I'm thinking about getting them, but I'm into Sumerian mythology for its own sake (and to compare to Ugaritic texts)

If you are over the age of 14 or have access to the internet and bought Mythology, you meme'd yourself. With a little bit of research into what the book was, you could have found out you were wasting your time. The people who wrecked the Iliad reading group by spamming that we should group read Mythology were borderline retarded or trolls, but the people who actually believed them are even worse.

The Iliad Fagles translation is read in American highschools, to give you a picture of the general intelligence required to get through it. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure there's footnotes and a glossary in the back with every Greek god. And then there's Wikipedia and hundreds, if not thousands of databases on Greek/ Roman mythology/ philosophy/ poetry/ culture available from top tier research institutions like Stanford and Harvard.

I don't know what you guys' problem is with this book. It's not like it's hyped up to be something else than it is, and it's certainly good for what it is.

there is literally a thread about it at least once a week with an OP asking if they should read it, and roughly a dozen replies convincing them to.

>roughly a dozen replies convincing them not to
Ftfy

haven't read tablets on inanna, but it definitely seems like interesting stuff. my experience with enuma elish and other near east texts is moreso its influence on later greek/biblical literature. sort of a typical western take on it, but still--those works are really great and influential in their own right.

the myth class at my uni teaches elish and gilgamesh, but if you're into lectures, i found the yale old testament course to be really enlightening on those near eastern myths in relation to judeo-christian tradition/composition of the bible. check it out.

I recently read stories from Ancient Canaan after reading Gilgamesh and I'm especially interested in how systematic the writing is for both (especially the Ugaritic text). I'll def check out that lecture though

Is Fagles really the best translation choice?

fagles is very readable. check out this article, though: newyorker.com/books/page-turner/englishing-the-iliad-grading-four-rival-translations

i say read fagles first, but read lattimore and pope on your second and third readings, if you choose to. you might catch the intricacies of just how hard it is to put something from one language to another, and how meaning is usually altered in translation.

or, learn homeric greek, which is very, very difficult.

you must be new here, i am usually the only person in Hamilton threads telling people not to read it and to read primary sources

better to read this book than not to read books at all

Mythology, especially western, represents the foundation of narrative. Humans began telling themselves a story, some of which actually kinda happened, and this story was made up of characters who represent every part of the human psyche. Western mythology is a story about us. It's a meme that was started thousands of years ago and still affect us to this day in the realm of ethics, art, and philosophy. You'd have to be a mongoloid to think mythology isn't important.

Yep. People keep crowing about superior sources--holy hell, we all know Hamilton is babby's first mythology. That's the point. If someone's having a hard time being interested in her lively simplified retellings, I hate to think how'd they react to Graves or the primary sources. Hell, start with D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths (I did, as a kid). Anything that makes you want to read more on the subject and isn't wildly inaccurate.

>Buy introductory greek mythology book
>Wtf guys this is so full of gods and their origins
Colour me surprised OP

He's referring to the book, dude.

i see now. damn i'm dumb.

I found it entertaining.

Fuck you.

If you want to be a douchebag who constantly brags about Greek gods? Just read one of those forced books (or Percy Jackson, that would also do) and enroll some humanities course. If you really want to learn about mythology and ancient Greeks? Just get a trip into Greece and experience pantheon in the first hand. It's simple as that.

Currently reading it, is it necessary to know both Latin and Greek names of the gods?? Also, according to the introduction, the creation of the gods based on human likeness mad

>There is no way you actually have to read this book before reading the Iliad right?
No. Why the hell would you believe that in the first place? Are you taking orders from internet strangers again, OP?

Don't.

>They should watch a 7 min video on youtube about the Greek gods instead
You didn't read a bunch of Greek mythology as a child? Damn.

>first foray into Greek myth
Eh? I'm intrigued now. Was my childhood unusual? From the age of six or so I had a basic knowledge of the Greek, Egyptian, Viking gods and myths, from reading kids' books. Did you guys not?

Maybe he read this chart

I remember reading about Thisbe and Pyramus in high school and getting mad at Shakespeare for basically ripping it off.
Oh, my young inocent self.

then by now you must be pretty mad at Shakespeare

Daddy I want a bionicle and if you don't buy me one i'm gonna pee my pants and cry in this denny's and you're gonna look so bad