Bibliography

Texts

The following books are translations that I have read. If you are interested in reading this literature, then I would highly recommend that you read these books. These books are the main sources of information for Timeless Myths.

Most of these books are actually books that I have bought over the years. A few books listed here were books I either borrowed or read in the library.

Homer

The Iliad

translated by Robert Fitzgerald
Oxford University Press, 1974

This is more a verse version of the Iliad.

The Iliad

translated by E. V. Rieu
Penguin Classics, 1946

My first book in the Classics collection. See the Iliad. This is set in the ninth year of the Trojan War. It is a lot easier to read than Fitzgerald. My only problem with this translation is the use of Roman names in a Greek epic, like Jove or Jupiter, Juno, Neptune and Ulysses.

The Iliad

translated by Robert Fagles, introduction and notes by Bernard Knox
Penguin Classics, 1996

The best translation in verse of the Iliad.

The Odyssey

translated by E. V. Rieu
Penguin Classics, 1950

The adventures and voyages of Odysseus (Ulysses). See the Odyssey. Like Rieu's translation of The Iliad, Rieu tends to use of Roman names in a Greek epic, like Jove or Jupiter, Juno, Neptune and Ulysses.

The Odyssey

translated by Robert Fagles, introduction and notes by Bernard Knox
Penguin Classics, 1996

The best verse version of the Odyssey, and without doubt, my favourite translation of The Odyssey.

Hesiod

Theogony / Works and Days / Elegies (by Theognis)

translated by Dorothea Wender
Penguin Classics, 1973

Hesiod wrote his Theogony and Works and Days. See Creation for the works of Hesiod. The Elegies was written by Theognis.

Hesiod. Homeric Hymns. Epic Cycle. Homerica

translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White
Loeb Classical Library, 1936

This contains a collection of works by Hesiod, such as his Theogony, and the Works and Days. There are also other works that were attributed to Hesiod, but were composed much later than Hesiod's time. These include Shield of Heracles, Catalogues of Women and Eoiae. Also found in this book are Homeric Hymns and the Epic Cycles.
A copy of this book can be found and read from Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL), or from Theoi E-Texts Library.

Homeric Hymns

The Homeric Hymns

translated by Jules Cashford
Penguin Classics, 2003

Homeric Hymns is valuable for those who are interested in the gods. They were supposedly hymns to the gods. This book by Jules Cashford is a new translation.

See also Hesiod for an older translation of the Homeric Hymns.

Epic Cycle

The following poems after Homer are lost, but summaries survived about these poems. The poems were called the Epic Cycle. These poems consisted of three main themes.

The first theme was about the war of the gods.

The Titanomachy, concerning the war between the Titans and the Olympians.

The next theme had to do with Oedipus and his family, and the wars between Argos and Thebes.

Oedipodea, possibly of Oedipus' birth, oracle and kingship and his fall.
Thebais, concerning the Seven Against Thebes.
Epigoni, the second war between Argos and Thebes.

The last main theme had to do with the Trojan War, before and after the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Cypria deals with the origin of the war, from wedding of Peleus and Thetis, as well as the Judgment of Paris, to the time before the Iliad.
Aethiopis or Amazonia deals with events immediately after the death of Hector in the Iliad, and is about the death of Achilles and Ajax.
Little Iliad recounts the event after Achilles' death, including the fall of Troy.
The Sack of Ilium, like the Little Iliad, concerned the final days of Troy.
Nostoi ("The Return") is about the Greek leaders who were either returning home or migrating to a new home. See Aftermath of the War.
Telegony deals with the life of Odysseus after the Odyssey and his death at the hand of his son Telegonus.

All these works (Epic Cycle) can be found in one volume; see Hesiod for details about the book.

Pindar

The Odes

translated by C. M. Bowra
Penguin Classics, 1969

Lyric poetry devoted to those who took part in the Pan-Hellenic games, both historical and mythological.

Aeschylus

The Oresteian Trilogy

translated by Philip Vellacott,
Penguin Classics, 1961

A trilogy of tragedies comprising Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and the Eumenides.

Prometheus Bound and Other Plays

translated by Philip Vellacott,
Penguin Classics, 1961

A collection of tragedy comprising Seven Against Thebes, The Suppliants, Prometheus Bound, and the Persae.

Sophocles

The Theban Plays

translated by E. F. Watling,
Penguin Classics, 1947

A trilogy of tragedies, comprising Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.

Electra and Other Plays

translated by E. F. Watling,
Penguin Classics, 1953

A collection of tragedies, comprising Electra, Ajax, Philoctetes, and the Women of Trachis.

Euripides

Medea and Other Plays

translated by Philip Vellacott,
Penguin Classics, 1963

A collection of tragedies, comprising Medea, Heracles (or Madness of Heracles), Hecuba, and Electra.

The Bacchae and Other Plays

translated by Philip Vellacott,
Penguin Classics, 1954

A collection of tragedies, comprising The Bacchae, Ion, Women of Troy, and Helen.

Orestes and Other Plays

translated by Philip Vellacott,
Penguin Classics, 1972

A collection of tragedies, comprising Orestes, Andromache, The Phoenician Women, Iphigenia in Aulis, The Suppliant Women, and the Children of Heracles.

Alcestis, Hippolytus, Iphigenia in Tauris

translated by Philip Vellacott,
Penguin Classics, 1953

A collection of tragedies, comprising Alcestis, Hippolytus, and Iphigenia in Tauris.

Apollodorus

The Library of Greek Mythology

translated by Robin Hard,
World's Classics, 1997

Also called The Library. Another book I relied on heavily for Greek myths. This contains extensive tales of Greek myths. About a third of the Library was lost, and a summary called the Epitome replaced it. Actually, modern scholars believe that Apollodorus didn't write the Library. However, people continued to associate the Library with Apollodorus, since it was under his name. Apollodorus did write the Chronicle (Greek history) and On the Gods.

There is also electronic version available at Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMCL). However, I don't know who translated the electronic edition, nor have I read this yet.

Apollodorus: The Library of Greek Mythology

Apollonius of Rhodes

The Voyage of Argo

translated by E. V. Rieu,
Penguin Classics, 1959

Also called Argonautica, containing the fullest account of Jason and the Quest of the Golden Fleece.

Callimachus

Callimachus - Hymns and Epigrams; Lycophron; Aratus

translated by A. W. Mair and G. R. Mair
Loeb Classical Library, 1921

This is actually a book of three writers: Callimachus, Lycophron and Aratus.

Callimachus was the chief librarian of Alexandria, in Hellenistic Egypt, during the time Apollonius wrote his Argonautica. I am far more interested in Callimachus' hymns to the gods, which are sometimes compared with the older Homeric Hymns. The most interesting is the poem to Pallas Athena as she bathed, and how the goddess blinded Teiresias.

The poet Lycophron also wrote Alexandra, who is otherwise known as Cassandra, the Trojan seeress; this a poem I have yet to read. I don't know anything about Aratus.

Unknown

Six Greek Comedies

Aristophanes, Menander, Euripides
translated by Michael Walton and Kenneth MacLeish
Methuen Drama, 2002

Six plays from 3 different writers - Aristophanes, Menander and Euripides.
  Aristophanes – Birds, Frogs and Women in Power.
  Menander - The Women from Samos.
  Euripides - Cyclops and Alkestis.
All three playwrights were Athenians, and performed in Athens. The book shows the difference between Old Comedy (Aristophanes) and New Comedy (Menander) in Athens, as well as satirical-play by Euripides.

Plutarch

The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives

translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert,
Penguin Classics, 1960

The main reason why I got this book is because of the biography of Theseus.

Lives

     Theseus
     Romulus
     Numa Pompilius
translated by John Dryden
The Internet Classics Archive

Plutarch was a Greek biographer who gave accounts of both Greek and Roman lives. Most of them were historical figures, while others were either mythical like Theseus or legendary, like Romulus and Numa.

Although translations and books are available in the Penguin Classics, World's Classics (Oxford) and in the Loeb Classical Library, I'm not really interested in buying these, since they are available in several volumes. So I downloaded what I needed from The Internet Classics Archive. These electronic texts or web pages were translated by John Dryden. It saved me a lot of money.

Pausanias

Guide to Greece

volume 1: Central Greece
translated by Peter Levi
Penguin, Classics, 1971.

Guide to Greece

volume 2: Southern Greece
translated by Peter Levi
Penguin, Classics, 1971.

Also called Periegesis Hellados ("Description of Greece"). This work is sort of a travel guide containing myths and local legends associated with various Greek sites. This work comes in two volumes, Central Greece and Southern Greece.
There are also a couple of chapters from Pausanias found in the Ancient History Sourcebook webpage:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/pausanias-bk1.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/pausanias-bk2.html

Strabo

The Geography

translated by Horace Leonard Jones
LacusCurtius: Strabo's Geography

This electronic text format was extracted from the original printed Loeb Classical Library book (1917-1932), of which there are eight volumes. It would be too expensive to buy, so it is lucky that they have this available on the net. Strabo was a Greek geographer (63 BC-AD 23). It not only contains the geography and history of the Greeks and Romans, but there are also extensive descriptions of the Celts living in Gaul, Spain and northern Italy. It is even a guide to India.

Quintus Smyrnaeus

Fall of Troy

translated by A.S. Way, 1913
Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMCL)

Quintus Smyrnaeus or Quintus of Smyrna (4th century AD) wrote the Fall of Troy in Greek, instead of Latin. Quintus filled in the details of the Epic Cycle, from the arrival of the Amazons after Hector's death to the Sack of Troy and the destruction of the Greek fleet.

I could not find this work in the bookshop, so I downloaded this electronic edition from the Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMCL). I suggest you read this after reading the Epic Cycle.

Virgil

The Aeneid

translated by W. F. Jackson Knight,
Penguin Classics, 1956

Highly Recommended

The adventures of the Trojan prince named Aeneas after the Trojan War. See the Aeneid.

Ovid

Metamorphoses

translated by Mary Innes,
Penguin Classics, 1955

Metamorphoses: A New Verse Translation

translated by David Raeburn
notes by Denis Feeney
Penguin Classics, 2004

Extensive work on myths composed by the Roman writer Ovid. The main theme was the transformations of deities, heroes and heroines to animal, vegetable or mineral. There is a new translation written in verse style. I have two different translations of the Metamorphoses.

Fasti

translated by A. J. Boye and R. D. Woodard
Penguin Classics, 2000

Sort like a handbook of the Roman calendar and festivals dedicated to the Roman deities. It also contains some myths on some of the deities. Only six Fasti survived, from January to June 30.

Gaius Valerius Flaccus

The Voyage of the Argo: The Argonautica of Gaius Valerius Flaccus

translated by David R. Slavitt
The John Hopkins University Press, 1999

Just got this book. Yet to read it. An alternative version to Apollonius Rhodius' classic.

Unknown

The Orphic Argonautica: An English Translation

translated by Jason Colavito
Jason Colavito, 2011

Just got this book. Yet to read it. An alternative version to Apollonius Rhodius' classic.

Hyginus

The Myths of Hyginus

translated and edited by Mary Grant
University of Kansas Publication, 1960

I read some of the tales at the State Library. This contains the Fabulae and the Poetica Astronomica. The problem with Hyginus is that he sometimes gave confusing accounts for some well-known myths. A copy of Grant's translation can be found at Theoi E-Texts Library.

Apuleius

The Golden Ass

translated by P. G. Walsh
World's Classics, 1994

This contains the tale of Cupid and Psyche. You will find the story in the Book 5, chapter 22.

There is also an electronic version, found at http://eserver.org/books/apuleius/. It is titled The Golden Asse, and it come from Adlington's translation, 1566. You may find this difficult to read, because it was translated into Elizabethan (Tudor) Engish. This translation is frequently used, and the current electronic edition was compiled by Martin Guy.

Nonnus

Dionysiaca

translated by W. H. Rouse
Loeb Classical Library, 1940
3 volumes

Nonnus of Panopolis wrote Dionysiaca about the life of the wine god Dionysus, in the 5th century AD in Egypt. There are 48 books, which come in 3 volumes. I found this work in the State Library.

Plato

Timaeus and Critias

translated by Desmond Lee
introduction by Thomas Kjeller Johansen Penguin Classics

I relied on these two dialogues of Plato to obtain information on the earliest accounts of Atlantis. I would only recommend getting these two dialogues if you are interested in the earliest accounts of Atlantis; otherwise you can ignore them. See the island of Thera in the Geographia section.

Two dialogues of Plato

Timaeus
Critias
translated by Benjamin Jowett
The Complete Works of Plato for free

Proclus

The Theology of Plato

Translated by Thomas Taylor
http://myweb.cableone.net/subru/platonictheology.html

Herodotus

The Histories

translated by Aubrey de Selincourt,
Penguin Classics, 1954

Although Herodotus was a historian, his extensive travels in Greece, Asia Minor and the Aegean islands, gave him knowledge of many local legends not found anywhere else.

Diodorus Siculus

Library of History

translated by C. H. Oldfather.
Loeb Classical Library, 1933-1967

Known as the Bibliotheca historica. This is actually a book on history, but it has a fairly large number of myths. Though the work is fragmented, it is still a pretty large work. This is available from Loeb Classical Library in 12 volumes, and each volume is not cheap. I have only bought volumes 2 and 3, because most of the myths can be found in Book IV and Book V. Diodorus' sources for the history of Hellenistic kingdoms and the Republic of Rome may be reliable, but not his sources for the myths. His tendency of trying to give a more logical account or explanation for the myths, tended to spoil well-known myths.

Livy

The Early History of Rome

translated by Aubrey de Selincourt and Robert Ogilvie.
Penguin, 1960.

Livy was a Roman historian (59 BC - AD 17) who wrote the History of Rome. Though there were originally 142 books, only 36 books have survived. For the Modern English, there are several other volumes, but this volume contains legends of the seven kings of Rome and how Rome became a Republic. See Tales of Rome.

Ptolemy

Tetrabiblos

translated by F. E. Robbins
Loeb Classical Library, 1940.

Claudius Ptolemy (c. AD 100-178) was one of the great astronomers and geographers of his time.

Unknown

Ancient Fragments

translated by I. P. Cory, 1832
Sacred Texts
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/af/index.htm

Here are a number of translations of fragmented texts from the works of Berossus, Pythagorean Fragments, Orphic Fragments and the Theogonies.

Unknown

Orphic Hymns

translated by Thomas Taylor, 1792
compiled at Sibylline Order
http://www.sibyllinewicca.org/lib_writing/lib_oh_index.htm

These texts were translated by Thomas Taylor in 1792, in his work the Hymns of Orpheus.

Other Texts

The following works are translations that I have not yet read, but I do suggest that you give these a try.... Well, if you can find them.

There are several reasons why I haven't read these works yet.

There is no English translation available yet.
The original is either fragmented or damaged, and probably not yet published.
It's out of publication (OUT OF PRINT).
I couldn't afford it (please, donate?).
It was available but I did not want to buy it.

However, if you do happen to find English translations of any of these works (preferably in paperback) that are affordable, please e-mail me the details (title, author, name of the translator, ISBN, and the publisher, etc).

Ovid

The Erotic Poems

translated by Peter Green
Penguin Classics, 1982

Some more myths from Ovid can be found here. This contains mainly love poems or stories.

Aesop

Fables

I'm not sure what's in this book. Anyway, I'm not really interested in buying this.

Statius

Thebaid

Achilleid

Two Roman epics written by Publius Papinius Statius (AD 45-96). The Thebaid is about the quarrel of Polyneices and Eteocles over the throne of Thebes and the war known as the Seven Against Thebes. The Achilleid (incomplete) is the account about the early life of Achilles. I'm not really interested in buying this. Available at Loeb Classical Library, but expensive. A second book from World's Classics which contains only the epic Thebaid, published by A. D. Melville, was less expensive than the Loeb.

Unknown

The Knossos Tablets: A revised transliteration of all the texts in Mycenaean Greek

Emmett L. Bennett, John Chadwick, Michael Ventris
Institute of Classical Studies, University of London, 1959

Unknown

The Pylos Tablets

Emmett L. Bennett
Princeton University Press, 1955

References

The following books I have read and used for my research and for general reference. These works are dictionaries, encyclopedias, critical essays or analyses on myths, etc.

Some of these books provide history and background to the myths and legends.