A Short Introduction to Classical Myth

A Short Introduction to Classical Myth by Barry B. Powell was used in my Greek and Roman mythology class as a companion book to the original sources studied. Those included Hesiod's Works and Days, and Theogony, Euripides' The Bacchae, and The Women of Troy as well as excerpts from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey taken from Stanley Lombardo's Essential Homer. This was a readable and concise introduction that deals with the definitions and interpretation of myth, the background of myth, and the themes of myth. Along with an extensive index, the author provides further readings, maps and a table of the Greek and Roman Pantheon. It's a great book that provides a solid foundation for an introduction to Greek and Roman mythology.