colin_cox's review against another edition
5.0
When I have taught mythology in the past (specifically Greek mythology), too often students asked the wrong questions. Regrettably, they were preoccupied with notions of accuracy and validity. That is to say, they adhered too closely to notions of rightness and wrongness, and they could not move beyond thinking of mythology as not historical. All of this is to say, they could not fully conceptualize mythology as mythology. To be fair, this may not reflect a lack of imagination on their part. It seems history has supplanted mythology as the predominant mode of understanding the past, and deriding an adaptation for not "being like the original" has become a fashionable way of engaging with adaptations. This is precisely why Helen Morales' Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction is so interesting. She pivots from two essential characteristics of mythology--the fact that myth is a "slippery term" and that myths help us understand "our selves, our liberties, and our lies"--and builds a compelling case that explores why myths matter (2; 4). The idea that ties this book together is simple but profound: what myths do is more interesting than what myths are. Morales writes, "This book will discuss various definitions of myth...but it is interested in myth as a process as much as a thing...the best way to answer the question of what classical mythology is is to look at what classical mythology does" (2).
Chapters 5 and 6 will be attractive to any reader interested in learning how myths shape two aspects of contemporary thought: psychology and sexuality. In Chapter 5, Morales challenges psychoanalysis while also affirming it. She suggests that psychoanalysis would be a fundamentally different discipline if Freud had selected another myth from classic mythology, but her larger point hangs on the notion that Freud's choice established a set of ideological expectations and prejudices that psychoanalysis had to grapple with, and to some degree, continues to grapple with today. However, Morales confirms psychoanalysis by suggesting that it facilitates in "Connecting people to classical myths, and the ideas within them that can give life meaning, [which] is one way of anchoring them to their common lost culture" (80-81).
Chapter 6 explores the ubiquity of rape and sexual assault in mythology and argues that mythology's malleability renders those moments less problematic when they are subjected to cultural reappropriations, such as the queering of certain myths.
Too often entries in the A Very Short Introduction series are dry and clinical. Morales is a welcomed change. She writes with enthusiasm, conviction, and erudition, but at no point is she impenetrable.
Chapters 5 and 6 will be attractive to any reader interested in learning how myths shape two aspects of contemporary thought: psychology and sexuality. In Chapter 5, Morales challenges psychoanalysis while also affirming it. She suggests that psychoanalysis would be a fundamentally different discipline if Freud had selected another myth from classic mythology, but her larger point hangs on the notion that Freud's choice established a set of ideological expectations and prejudices that psychoanalysis had to grapple with, and to some degree, continues to grapple with today. However, Morales confirms psychoanalysis by suggesting that it facilitates in "Connecting people to classical myths, and the ideas within them that can give life meaning, [which] is one way of anchoring them to their common lost culture" (80-81).
Chapter 6 explores the ubiquity of rape and sexual assault in mythology and argues that mythology's malleability renders those moments less problematic when they are subjected to cultural reappropriations, such as the queering of certain myths.
Too often entries in the A Very Short Introduction series are dry and clinical. Morales is a welcomed change. She writes with enthusiasm, conviction, and erudition, but at no point is she impenetrable.
schellenbergk's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Not what I expected, but very good nonetheless. The very short introduction series usually gives you an overview of the topic – in this case, the author explores, I’ll be at in a brief way the impact this topic has own culture at large. A very interesting take on the subject.
daniwantsalibrary's review against another edition
informative
3.0
For a “very short introduction,” this assumes the reader has a working knowledge of the mythology and focuses more on the historical and present context of using myths in art and literature. Analysis was okay, kind of new age “woo woo” at times
mazza57's review against another edition
2.0
this is a dry read which does little to explain the myths themselves rather it looks at myths within society.