The Greek Myths That Shape the Way We Think

Myths survive through creative re-imagination: witness this intellectual history exploring the mutable thematic riches of eight myths: Prometheus, Medea, Daedalus and Icarus, the Amazons, Oedipus, the Judgment of Paris, Heracles’s labors, and Orpheus and Eurydice. Buxton (The Complete World of Greek Mythology) provides a contextual introduction (citing numerous additional myths) and a conclusion arguing for the “inexhaustible” relevance of these narratives. Lucid but not reductive retellings render the often-complex stories accessible. Chronologically analyzing each myth’s development in Western culture, Buxton shows how interpretive daring sparks new understandings. The first chapter features Hesiod, Aeschylus, Boccaccio, Fuseli, Rubens, Goethe, Byron, the Shelleys, Karl Marx, Boris Johnson, Terry Pratchett, Ridley Scott, et al. (subsequent chapters highlight more women and artists). The writing is lively and conversational (scrupulously sourced, with footnotes for the scholarly); unfamiliar terms are immediately explained. Abundant illustrations add materially to the educational substance and aesthetic pleasure of the book.