Mythology

Forums ► Misc Topics ► Mythology
Reply to this post oldest 1 newest Start a new thread

Pages: oldest 1 newest

Mythology
By: / Beginner
Post # 1

Im kind of interested in reading more about greek and norse mythology.. does anyone have good sources for stuff to read?prefer online stuff bc I cant afford too much.

Login or Signup to reply to this post.

Re: Mythology
By: / Knowledgeable
Post # 2

Here are two resources that you may find useful for the topics you are researching:

Greek Mythology ~

http://www.theoi.com/

Norse Mythology ~

http://norse-mythology.org/

Login or Signup to reply to this post.

Re: Mythology
By:
Post # 3

Theoi basically is an encyclopedia of Greek mythology. I wouldn't go anywhere else. Try Edith Hamilton's Mythology. I'm sure you can find it somewhere online.

Login or Signup to reply to this post.

Re: Mythology
By: / Novice
Post # 4
The thing about Greek mythology is that Greece is a bunch of islands, so their mythology started out as very regional until it began to grow together. The moon goddess of one island might have different stories about her than another part of Greece. Roger Lancelyn Green is my favorite beginner resource, although I never explored Hellenism too deeply.

For Norse mythology, the Eddas of Snorri Sturluson are what's most commonly considered the canon text. However, he was a Christian missionary who wrote down the pagan beliefs because maybe he was bored. The Icelandic sagas can more reliably infer the kind of life and magical practice that the people had (although one of the sagas has this strange thing where the hero refuses to learn magic because he doesn't want it written in his saga that he accomplished anybody by trickery, it had to be by his brawn and weaponry. So, that was the sort of cultural stigma.)

The memoirs of Roman conquerers have their own bias, so I'm always weirded out by Caesar's writing that the Celts worship Mercury because he probably meant "they worship a deity that I think is close enough to my god Mercury", but the Romans might be more honest about the philosophy that comes with the belief systems. For example, Tacticus wrote that Norse paganism was more about the gods as abstract ideas, rather than people in some other plane of reality.
Login or Signup to reply to this post.

Re: Mythology
By: / Beginner
Post # 5
Try Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan.
Its a series based on Greek Mythology.
You will love the book and know about Greek Mythology too. Free pdfs are available online.
Login or Signup to reply to this post.

Re: Mythology
By: / Novice
Post # 6
I'll recommend against Percy Jackson, because if you don't know the source material, then you're not going to be able to see where Riordan took creative license with his research and changed things. For example, calling the heroes "half-bloods" instead of "demigods" is more a convention of YA Literature than it is a convention of Reconstructionist Hellenism. It's also very Olympus-centric, whereas the mythology and traditions of Minoan Crete (for example) would be equally interesting to consider.
Login or Signup to reply to this post.

Reply to this post oldest 1 newest Start a new thread

Pages: oldest 1 newest