The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology (Penguin Dictionary)

Not as academic or rigorous as one might hope. You can get better information from Wikipedia for the most part. Entries are not labeled as to culture of origin, so Greek, Mycenaean, Etruscan, Roman, and even some Egyptian names are all jumbled together without any notes about etymology or pronunciation. No footnotes or anything about where the stories cited came from. Many entries that should appear in a volume like this are missing. This book, while providing some details missed in a lot of others, is generally not comprehensive or well-structured. Overall, disappointing.

It’s fine, but it’s not worth $30+. For that much money you expect better than grainy black and white photos.

This is a terrific resource for searching names and relationships from the ancient stories. I had the Oxford edition a few years ago, but it seems to have disappeared; so I'm grateful for this as a replacement.

It's just what one needs when wading through the classical mythological epics. A dictionary, in dictionary format of all the beings, places, forces and their complex interrelationships. It's in alphabetical order, requiring no previous knowledge to look things up.

very comprehensive, a good well written reference text.

I love this book and since I'm teaching myself about Greek/Roman Mythology, it has been the best help!

My granddaughter loves this dictionary. She uses it all of the time.

I agree with the other reviewers that this is an outstanding compilation, maybe even beyond the needs of the casual reader, but it is not expensive and more than worth the price.

This work claims to cover "every character, whether human or divine, major or minor" - a bold claim, and one that I cannot dispute.A Blackwell Reference publication, it is certainly a wonderful reference work, with helpful B&W illustrations, and forty genealogical tables that "explain the complex and often bizarre relationships between interlocking families of gods and men."The entries are necessarily concise, but very readable and informative (no doubt, reliably so). In fact, just browsing the longer entries would be happily educative for anyone but the lifetime specialist, and surely an occasional refresher even for such. At the same time, a child with a good reading level might well find this to be a wonderful book; I know that my own conception of human possibilities expanded marvellously when, as a child, I found a similar work on a grandparent's bookshelf.Shipping note: Sold by ThriftBooks-Phoenix, the item arrived well-packaged, as described, and on-time.

This is an excellent dictionary for anyone who loves Greek mythology (Roman less so) and who wants to understand the references in classical art. Entries are concise and clear and the format is the right size.

Great book

Really happy with this book, so easy to use, in alphabetical order. Great for helping with crossword clues !

Bought for study purposes only