The Olympians Series by George O’Connor. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan. Goddess Girls Series by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams. The Complete World of Greek Mythology, by Richard Buxton. Mini Myths: Make A Wish, Midas! by Joan Holub. Top Rated Best Greek Mythology Books To Read. Hamilton, Edith.Mythology. New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2013. “Mythology’s value for moderns.” New York Times. .Įllis, Richard. Imagining Atlantis. New York: First Vintage Books Edition, 1999. These characteristics and change in Zeus makes the mythology relevant in present times because like the gods, people can also change for the better.Ĭournos, John. Nevertheless, like most heroes, Zeus managed to change his ways and transformed into a kind of god that satisfies people’s expectations. Moreover, Zeus’ portrayal of having affairs with various women makes mythology closer to reality, where people can be blinded by their desires. In fact, he was selected to rule the sky and earth because he and his brothers drew lots to decide who rules what part of the universe. Despite being a god, he remains to be ruled by fate. In the book, Hamilton points out the image of Zeus as an imperfect god, who is not all knowing and powerful. He begins the rule Olympus and the earth with greater regard to peace and order, justice, and harmonious relationship between the gods, demi-gods, and the mortals. She states, “…back of the stories of an amorous Zeus and a cowardly Zeus and a ridiculous Zeus, we can catch sight of another Zeus into being…what human beings needed in the god they worshipped (Hamilton, 20).” He becomes the standard of moral and giver of justice. Like most heroes in literature, Zeus undergoes transformation from being an imperfect hero into an ideal one. Hamilton recognizes different personalities of Zeus. Even the Greeks themselves eventually grew tired of the extra marital affairs involving Zeus so the course of the mythology changed over time. Having children from different women seemed to have changed Zeus. Zeus is able to have various children from different mothers. Zeus rapes and destroys the lives of women he “loves.” He takes mortal women for his own pleasure, but creates different plots to cover up his infidelity, only to make the lives of these women even worse. In the story of these gods, love is forced. In mythology, Zeus changes the idea of love. He also devises various tricks to hide his infidelity from his wife, Hera (Hamilton, 27). He is oftentimes represented to be falling in love with one woman after the other. 
One of the most notable characteristics of Zeus is being a womanizer. He becomes a closer moral authority with whom people can relate to. With these characteristics, Zeus can serve the purpose of mythology better. In Greek mythology, fate is proven to be stronger than him (Zeus, 20). Furthermore, like other mortals, Zeus is also bounded by Fate. Other gods, like Poseidon and Hera can deceive him in order to get what they want. Hamilton points out that Zeus is neither omnipotent nor omniscient.
Even if Zeus is worshipped as a god, even by his fellow gods, he is far from being a perfect God. However, despite all these powers, Zeus is not without vulnerabilities and weaknesses. His power is way above the powers of all gods gathered together. Zeus is considered as the Lord of the Sky, the cloud gatherer, or rain-god. And, Zeus is not the kind of god that we expect. Throughout the book, Hamilton points out various insights about Zeus. In mythology, he is the chief of all gods, the supreme ruler. One of the most dominant figures in the book, of course, is Zeus or Jupiter. Rather, mythology is something that people created to explain something in nature, how the universe, and its components came to existence (Ellis, 259). After all, Greek and Roman mythology, although highly focused on gods and goddesses did not refer to religion.
She regarded mythology not as dead antiquity, but rather as living fables that still have relevance to our present context (Cournos, 4). This book reflects the author’s interest and fascination in Greek and Roman myths. Critical Analysis of Edith Hamilton’s MythologyĮdith Hamilton’s Mythology is regarded as the long-awaited popular exposition needed for classical mythology.
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