As a facsimile reprint of a scarce antiquarian work, this book preserves the original text while acknowledging its imperfections from age, such as marks and notations. It emphasizes the cultural significance of the work, reflecting a commitment to protect and promote literature. This edition aims to provide an accessible, high-quality version that remains true to the original, appealing to both collectors and those interested in historical texts.
Contains the English translations of Apollodorus' Library and Hyginus' Fabulae
- the two important surviving 'handbooks' of classical mythography. This work
discusses the issues of authorship, aim, and influence. It also includes an
index of people and geographic locations, and an index of authors and works
cited by the mythographers.
"The only work of its kind to survive from classical antiquity, the Library of Apollodorus is a unique guide to Greek mythology, from the origins of the universe to the Trojan War. Apollodorus' Library has been used as a source book by classicists from the time of its compilation in the 1st-2nd century BC to the present, influencing writers from antiquity to Robert Graves. It provides a complete history of Greek myth, telling the story of each of the great families of heroic mythology, and the various adventures associated with the main heroes and heroines, from Jason and Perseus to Heracles and Helen of Troy. As a primary source for Greek myth, as a reference work, and as an indication of how the Greeks themselves viewed their mythical traditions, the Library is indispensable to anyone who has an interest in classical mythology. Robin Hard's accessible and fluent translation is supplemented by comprehensive notes, a map and full genealogical tables. The introduction gives a detailed account of the Library's sources and situates it within the fascinating narrative traditions of Greek mythology."--Publisher
Attributed to Apollodorus of Athens (born c. 180 BCE), but probably composed
in the first or second century BCE, the Library provides a grand summary of
Greek myths and heroic legends about the origin and early history of the world
and of the Hellenic people.
This volume is a collection of Greek myths and legends, including stories of the Olympian gods, heroes like Hercules and Perseus, and the Trojan War. These ancient tales continue to captivate readers with their timeless themes of love, heroism, and divine intervention.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Apollodorus of Damascus is the best-known architektôn of the early second century AD, the era of Trajan and Hadrian. In the civil domain he is credited with planning and constructing prestigious projects in Rome itself, including Trajan's Forum and Baths; in the military sphere he bridged the Danube and wrote a Siege-matters treatise for his patron-emperor. Addressed (it is argued here) to Trajan rather than Hadrian, and with a view to the campaigning conditions anticipated in Dacia, the treatise therefore proffered suggestions and designs suitable for a Roman army operating in that rugged terrain and attacking its hill-top settlements. However, as P. H. Blyth first realised, what has been transmitted under Apollodorus' name includes many later elaborations, armchair-fantasy inventions which, if ever built, could never have been effective. This, the work's first English translation and the first full commentary on it in any language, gives modern readers criteria for differentiating between these two disparate categories of material, thus allowing an assessment of each component in the terms appropriate to it.
