Greek Gods and Heroes (Includes 73 Illustrations)

This handbook is intended for students of literature who have occasion to become familiar with the Greek gods and heroes. To the student of Virgil or of Milton these gods may remain merely names, or they may be associated with illustrations in books; fortunately original works of Greek art which represent them as they were conceived by the Greeks themselves, and the present book directs attention to the original Greek representation of each god or hero which may be seen there. It will entirely fail of its purpose unless it brings readers face to face with the objects in the Museum illustrated in it. In so far as this purpose is fulfilled, the reader may come to realize the personality of these beings of Greek imagination through the arts of sculpture and painting as well as through the art of literature. In a word, the student may see the imaginative being about whom he is reading, as the Greeks themselves saw it. To this purpose the brief descriptions of the gods and heroes are subordinated.