PREFACE
This is the seventh edition of Classical Mythology, which was first published in- Successive revisions have been extensive, in grateful response to sensitive,
knowledgeable, and appreciative critics over these many years. They have en-
couraged us to remain firm in our conviction that the literary tradition of Greek
and Roman mythology must always remain our first consideration but have also
confirmed our need to incorporate, as much as possible, additional comparative
and interpretative approaches and the evidence from art and archaeology.
As a result, this new edition of our work, more than ever, stands as a com-
prehensive study of classical mythology, where one may go to explore the na-
ture of the Greek and Roman gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines and to en-
joy the most significant sources that constitute the substance of their legends.
Enriched with this knowledge and appreciation, readers will be prepared to make
exciting comparisons of all sorts—anthropological, psychological, literary, artis-
tic, and musical—and to pursue whatever further explorations they may desire.
Our translations of the ancient authors become more extensive with each
edition. We include here, among Greek authors, all thirty-three Homeric Hymns;
all the important passages in Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days; excerpts
(many of them substantial) from Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides,
Herodotus, Plato, Lucian, Pindar, the pre-Socratic philosophers, and the lyric
poets; and, among Latin authors, selections from Ovid, Vergil, Statius, Manil-
ius, and Seneca. All translations are our own.
We have always considered the powerful influence of classical mythology
upon diverse artistic forms (painting, sculpture, literature, music, opera, dance,
theater, and cinema) to be a most vital, enjoyable, and rewarding study. This is
why we believe our treatment (in Part 4) of the survival of this influence and
our inclusion of depictions of myth in art from ancient through modern times
to be of the utmost importance. The tenacious persistence of Greek and Roman
mythology as a living force throughout the ages but particularly in contempo-
rary society has become one of its most identifiable characteristics. After all, the
beauty and power of its inspiration have never died. It is retold and reinter-
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