Greek Mythology

Barbara J. Feldman

"Boy, she really opened Pandora's box this time!" "That's certainly his Achilles heel, isn't it?" Is this a new kind of slang? No, these are references to Greek myths. Greek mythology is a collection of tales told by the ancient Greeks about their many gods and heroes. Beside being just plain fun to read, understanding these myths opens the door to understanding the many allusions to these ancient Greek stories in modern language, poetry, literature and pop culture.

Greek Mythology

5 stars

From Aphrodite to Zeus, Michael Wiik covers the immortals of Greek mythology with brief bios and a pronunciation key. "The names are NOT hard to pronounce, don't let them scare you. The Greeks don't use C's... they use K's instead." Best clicks for high-school students are the three Fun Fact Quizzes, and the useful table of Greek Names vs. Roman Names. "Greek Mythological Beings are often confused with the Romans. They are, for the most part, completely different and the names should not be used interchangeably."

Greek Mythology Today: Myth Man

3 stars

Enjoy a well-told myth? Then Myth Man's Myth of the Month is for you. If you're working on a school report, head directly to Homework Help. With 200 reference pages, Myth Man's Homework Help section is huge. It includes an illustration gallery, two printable (non-interactive) quizzes, Mythology in Modern Culture, and biographies of major and minor Olympians. Navigation is confusing at times because some of the category links take you offsite (while displaying the Myth Man URL in your browser address bar) so use your back button if you get lost.

Mythography

4 stars

Explore Greek mythology through the eye of the artist at Mythography. The site is divided into sections on Gods & Goddesses, Heroes & Heroines, Lovers & Legends, and Creatures & Chimerae. As you drill down through the directory, you'll find great hyperlinked articles, many of them from "Bulfinch's Mythology," a classic tome on Greek mythology. But the best clicks are those labeled Gallery, which will take you to a thumbnail display of related artworks.

Myth Web

5 stars

The delightful Myth Web is my pick of the day for both students and teachers. The twelve Olympians are showcased in Gods, and nearly all things Greek are covered in Encyclopedia, but the don't-miss-them clicks are the six cartoon-illustrated myths in Heroes. Teachers have their own section, with lesson plans (Teaching Tips) and a summary of mythological references (such as herculean effort, the Midas touch and an atlas of maps) used in everyday language.

Theoi Project

5 stars

When trying to understand who's related to whom and how, nothing beats a family tree, and this seven-page family tree of Greek gods and monsters is no exception. But the main attraction at the 300-page Theoi Project is the extensive encyclopedia of Greek divinities, illustrated with paintings from ancient Greek vases. The Theoi Project is an excellent resource for high-school and college reports. It includes a good links section and a bibliography, where you can find online editions of Homer and other classic texts (see Source Guide.)