A companion to Greek mythology

Series information: Part of the "Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World", these volumes will each contain a mixture of narrative and thematic analysis in thirty to forty concise, newly commissioned essays written by individual scholars within their area of specialization.

Ancient history includes: Hellenistic World - Andrew Erskine, University College Dublin (2003); Roman Empire - David Potter, University of Michigan (2003); Ancient Near East - Daniel Snell, University of Oklahoma (2004); Archaic Greek World - Kurt Raaflaub, Brown University, and Hans van Wees, University College London (2004); Classical Greek World - Konrad Kinzl, Trent University, and Lawrence Tritle, Loyola Marymount University (2004); Roman Republic - Nathan Rosenstein, Ohio State University, and Robert Morstein-Marx, University of California, Santa Barbara (2005).

Volumes are planned on Late Antiquity and Byzantium and Ancient Egypt.Literature and Culture Latin Literature - Stephen Harrison, Corpus Christi College, Oxford (2004); Ancient Epic - John Miles Foley, University of Missouri (2004); Greek and Roman Historiography - John Marincola, New York University (2005); Greek Tragedy - Justina Gregory, Smith College (2005); Classical Mythology - Ken Dowden, University of Birmingham (proposed here); Greek Literature - Pat Easterling, Cambridge (approached).

Other volumes are planned on the Classical Heritage, Greek and Roman Comedy, Greek Religion, and Roman Religion.

Main blurb: This book is an essential reference work for anyone interested in understanding the mythology of the classical world and its influence on western civilization.

It begins by examining the relationship between myth and other traditional tales - folktales, sagas, legends - and between myth and historical narrative.

The book then provides an account of all the major ancient and modern theories of myth and the role of myth in religion.

Sections on myth in Greek and Roman literature are followed by an account of the "afterlife" of Greek myth from the Reniassance to the present day."The Companion to Classical Mythology" supplies the context necessary to understand classical myth.

It will be a vital resource for students of classical, English and comparative literature, as well as students of ancient religion.