Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes Monsters by Donna Jo Napoli

Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes Monsters Reviews

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  Manybooks

  Now even though Donna Jo Napoli's Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters is (or at least seems) for the most part accurate enough content and thematics wise (albeit I do wonder why in her section on Apollo, she has not stated that Apollo is sometimes also considered, alongside of the Titan Helios, as god of the sun), I really cannot say that I have all that much if at all personally enjoyed reading her rewritten stories of Greek mythology. For even with my appreciation of Napoli's inclusion of a cast of characters, timelines, bibliographies (as well as comparisons to other world mythologies and lore), I have had to repeatedly cringe at the fact that for one the author (or rather the reteller) so often uses modern slang and vernacular (such as nitwit, nag and the like) and that for two Napoli seems to often verbally wallow in Zeus' sexual indiscretions and is often so minutely descriptive regarding pregnancy, giving birth and even basic bodily functions that I for one have found much of Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters verging on being inappropriate for the intended age group, not all that suitable for younger readers.
  
  And no, I am actually NOT in any manner offended by Zeus's sexual and marital indiscretions and by the both physical and sometimes sexual violence that is part and parcel to much of Greek mythology. I just happen to think and believe that Donna Jo Napoli should have and could have retold these classic tales in a less lurid, less titillating (pun intended) fashion (as in my opinion, one can and should retell the classic Greek myths of the past in a manner that is respectful, age appropriate for the interned audience and indeed also not too much modernised and imbued with primarily images of sex, violence, mayhem and weird depictions of bodily fluids and monthly cycles). And therefore, but two stars for Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters, as even with the appreciated supplemental information at the back (of which I will also more than likely make use for research and study), the textual, the narrational combination of Donna Jo Napoli's retold Greek myths and Christina Balit's accompanying illustrations (which are indeed bright and descriptive but like Napoli's retellings often rather too modern, too exaggerated and too Greek myth inspired movie like for my tastes) has just not been, is simply not my proverbial cup of tea.
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  Peachy

  Greek Mythology, along with Celtic and other types of folklore, have been of interest to me ever since I took my first credit in Classics, back in Grade 9. Having been with my husband whose family is from an island in Greece, for over 25 years, I have had occasion to study the Greek myths a bit more. Now that my son is in Greek school, I find Hellenic mythology to be a fun way of sharing in the culture and historical stories. This Treasury of Greek Mythology will be the first of many compilations that will adorn our coffee table over the coming years, I'm sure.
  
  
  Donna Jo Napoli's versions have been released by National Geographic, in this anthology, and they were not a bad introduction for my precocious 7 year old. Although some were sparse in detail, the illustrations for each story were a double page spread, and quite striking. There were also bright and alluring interpretive pictures throughout the text, that helped depict the highlighted points along the way.
  
  The collection gets a 3.5 stars from me with a whole 2 of those stars for the artwork.
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  Книжни Криле

  Ако следите редовно „Книжни Криле” вероятно си спомняте ревюто ни на „Вечните арабски приказки: Истории за приключения, магия, любов и измяна” от Дона Джо Наполи, с илюстрации от Кристина Балит. Но тази завладяваща книга на не е единствена по рода си. Всъщност, тя е вече четвъртата в поредицата на National Geographic и „Егмонт България”, която обединява в едно приказни текстове и научен подход към тяхното възприемане и тълкуване. Днешната ни статия ще ви представи едно от предходните издания в серията - „Вечната гръцка митология: Класически истории за богове, богини, герои и чудовища”. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле":
  https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...
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  Alanna

  The only thing that saves this from getting only one star is the fabulous illustrations. The text is terrible, poorly researched, biased and down right infuriating. What a waste of such wonderful illustrations!
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  Laura

  Totally awesome--I love everything about it and could not imagine Greek mythology being explained better. So much better than other high-rated books.
  
  The artwork is stellar but what I appreciate most is the story-telling approach. The intro briefly explains how all people and society's try to make sense of the world. We explain things in terms of science and the Greeks created these stories. Then it starts at the beginning with Gaia, Mother Earth, and introduce characters as they form in the story. (It seems like every book would start at the beginning, but they don't!). Knowing the back stories makes it easy to understand the personalities, motivations, and actions of the characters. I feel like I have a full sense of the stories (and purpose of the stories) that doesn't come across in the other books.
  
  It has my seven-year-old boy riveted and my five-year-old boy fairly interested if not begging for more. I was hesitant to read these stories with my kids on moral grounds, but the immorality isn't emphasized or glorified, so we were able to talk about it briefly and then move on.
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  Abigail

  American author Donna Jo Napoli and British illustrator Christina Balit, whose other collaborations include books on
  ancient Egyptian and
  Norse Mythology, the
  stories of the Bible, and the
  Arabian Nights, here focus on the world of Greek mythology. Beginning with Gaia, and the creation of the world, the narrative here explores the stories of the Titans, and then the Olympians. All of the major Greek gods are included - Gaia, Uranus, Chronus, Zeus, Hestia, Poseidon, Athena, Hades, Demeter, Apollo, Artemis, Hera, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, Ares, Helios, Selene, Dionysus - as well as heroes like Perseus, Orion, Heracles, Jason and Theseus. The final story is devoted to the Trojan War, and the book concludes with an extensive afterword, including a map, timeline, cast of characters, bibliographic note, list of sources, and index...
  
  After greatly enjoying Napoli and Balit's
  Treasury of Egyptian Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Monsters & Mortals, I expected to find Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters just as engaging. Unfortunately, I was often distracted and put off by the narrative tone here, which seems very invested in offering moral judgment of the mythological characters being described. A great deal of attention is paid to Zeus' many wives, and while this does reflect the mythology, the asides about how he was 'entitled' felt intrusive. In the story of Perseus, Polydectes is described as acting "in the selfish tradition so common of kings," whereas Perseus himself is described as being clever but heartless, killing Medusa, who had "done no wrong." Similarly, the scene in which Perseus rescues Ariadne contains a rather snide comment about the heroine being the classic 'maiden in distress.' Theseus' action in abandoning Ariadne is described as the "least fine moment of his life." It's not so much that I disagree with all of these conclusions - one can't read Greek mythology without wincing a bit at the violence, injustice and oppression that were part of the ancient world - but I don't require the author to come to those conclusions for me. It's also interesting to note that this moralizing doesn't carry over to the female characters, even when they do horrific things. When Medea murders her own children to be revenged upon Jason, there's no extraneous commentary, nor is Helen of Troy condemned for betraying her husband - everything is apparently the gods' fault, when women do wrong.
  
  I was really quite surprised at my reaction here, and wonder whether, being more familiar with Greek mythology than Egyptian, I was better able to concentrate on issues of tone and storytelling here, than in
  Treasury of Egyptian Mythology, where so many of the stories were previously unknown to me. It doesn't seem reasonable to suppose that the tone there was so different than here, but I simply don't recall being put off by it, to any great extent. Given my reaction to the storytelling here, this might have been a two-star book for me. Fortunately, I am a great admirer of illustrator Christian Balit's work - indeed, she is the reason I have tracked these collections down - and I greatly enjoyed the visuals here. The vibrant colors, the boldly stylized figures, the use of gold accents and decorative borders - I found the whole thing gorgeous, and awarded an extra star accordingly. In the end, I think there are better collections of Greek mythology out there for children, starting with the classic (and best all-time!)
  D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, and I would definitely recommend that title over this one. This, I would recommend chiefly to fellow Balit fans, who will undoubtedly enjoy the artwork.
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  Brianna

  The artwork in this book was absolutely stunning! I also loved the details of all the tales had, and how most linked into the next one. There were references like a map and historical outlined that I thought would be useful for using while reading the stories and teaching. My only problem with this book is some of the details they included about the unfaithfulness of husbands such as Zeus. I feel that, as a future teacher, young students should not be exposed to this at a young age. Some students might come to a conclusion that such actions are "okay" when it's not. Students might not come to that conclusion, but I still see it as a potential risk.
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  aileen | ✾

  Well, this could have been better. Most of the stories, especially those about the gods, were too short and completely different from what I’ve read in other history books. I‘m no expert, of course, and clearly this was made for a younger audience, so I‘m trying not to be too critical.
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  Gofita

  I've been reading this one with my son over the last few months. Napoli has really brought the Greek stories to life. She has some funny commentary inserted into the stories to bring attention to some of the crazier/violent aspects of the stories. There are also some excellent extra insights into the stories, such as the science behind the sun or moon or the geography of Greece or its people and culture.
  
  The drawings are also amazing. Beautiful and colorful. This is a great edition to our library!
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  Utena

  Real Rating: 1.5
  
  I have always had a love for mythology especially anything Greek/Roman mythology. When my friend brought this to my attention, I was excited. I could not wait to crack open this book and dive into the world of mythology.
  
  Unfortunately I was disappointed by the lack of research this book should have had. Stories were short. Too short for my tastes.
  
  The art was delightful and beautiful but the stories were terrible.
  
  Seriously if you want to introduce your children to mythology, pick up Rick Riordan's books. You will thank me for it.
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  Whitney

  I wanted a refresher on the Greek gods and goddesses so I decided to give this a try. The myths and stories were enjoyable and brought to life with gorgeous illustrations. It's geared towards children, so I thought it would be an easy to follow treasury, yet I found myself getting confused at the order of the stories but regardless, I enjoyed reading it but I still do not feel as I have a solid grasp on each god/goddess as I would like.
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  Samantha Glass

  A good supplement to all the Percy Jackson books we've been reading. The myths behind the tales, if you will.
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  Bekka

  Here are some of my incomplete and rambling thoughts about National Geographic's Treasury of Greek Mythology: Some reviewers felt that Napoli is an intrusive author as she casts judgements within the stories; personally, this does not bother me. However, I do think that it should be noted. All authors will cast some bias in the manner that they deliver their retellings, so in a way I feel like Napoli is slightly transparent with her views as the storyteller. The bias I see from her in the stories is a disdain for many of the male gods and their treatment of their female counterparts.
  
  Some revisions of the original stories turned strange, ie. Poseidon falling in love with Medusa and admiring the snakes that were her hair. Also, as several other reviewers pointed out, the writing at times is awkward because it seems like Napoli was more concerned with being poetic with her text then clear.
  
  3.5 Stars Rounded Down
  I adore the artwork in the book and feel that the book offers a decent beginning or supplemental offering of Greek mythology; however, I would not advise one to stop their education on the subject after reading just one source, and particularly not this source as it is limited by design: for the intended audience's age range and the scope of characters and stories it offers.
  
  A small pet peeve of mine is when authors use B.C., would it kill them to be inclusive and use B.C.E.?
  
  I am on the fence about whether I will buy more mythology books from this collection.
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  Khadijah

  I have to give it four stars because that ARTWORK❤ The writing was alright, too. It wasn't very exciting, even though the things happening were, and so I was underwhelmed- until I saw the next picture! A fun read.
  (I'm still shocked at how little I knew about these stories~ Hera is actually crazy and needs help, the good Zeus does definitely is nothing compared to the bad, Orion has always been my fave constellation but he's so not a cool dude, etc. I like Selene, Goddess of the Moon. Theseus is alright. Anyways. Fun stuff!)
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  Gabi Maharani

  2.5 ⭐️⭐️
  Honestly reading Rick Riordan books will get you further than reading this book. The art was really pretty, though!
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  James Biser

  This is a great review of the myths of the Greeks. It includes the stories of gods, goddesses, heroes, and men. Readers must enjoy these classic tales.
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  Rajish Maharaj

  Wasnt a bad read, a bit short on each character and it seemed maybe a bit rushed. Id give it a 2.
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  Shannon

  Interesting structure and overview of the gods, goddesses et al, but I had some issues with it. One of the biggest was that the goddesses were often discussed most specifically with who they were married to and who their children and the gods are usually discussed by their actions. Also, there was a judgmental tone to the goddesses actions, like Hera being called a nag because she was mad Zeus when off sleeping with everyone. Why is there judgement on her attitude? Can we even know what her attitude was? What were her ACTIONS. It makes it even more frustrated as this is a kids book.
  
  I also found some of the sections on the particular god/goddess got off to an odd start, I understand it makes sense to start with the parents but often it felt like it took a long time to get to that god/goddess and what THEY did. I felt (again), this was particularly the case with the goddesses.
  
  I'm sure as a print book it would look amazing, but reading on Kindle I felt like I was missing out. I did enjoy that each section started with an image of the god/goddess/hero, but the section that has all the charts was obviously suppose to fit on 2 pages but doens't read well digitally. The map was way to small to read anything. The timeline at the end of the book was great though.
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  Sunny the Sassy

  
  Interesting take on the gods. I loved the poetic writing and showing how different gods viewed the same events. However, some things just seemed... inaccurate? Like the author writes that Hera helped Leto give birth, but literally every other version I’ve seen and read made it clear that Hera tormented Leto by making it so that Leto cannot give birth on land attached to the earth and also by kidnapping the goddess of childbirth. I therefore had trouble trying to figure out what was fabricated and what was just artistic flair.
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  Nguyễn Minh Hiếu

  Thần thoại Hi Lạp là 1 cuốn sách với thủ pháp nhân tính hoá các vị thần, khiến cho họ có cảm xúc, dục vọng, tình cảm như 1 con người bình thường. Mặt khác, cuốn sách cũng thần thánh hoá các vĩ nhân, các anh hùng của nhân loại, những người có phẩm chất đôi khi còn vượt lên so với các vị thần.
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  Michael Perrino

  I think that this book has great myths that are very unique and different than many other myths.
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  Taylor Hubbard

  Look, sometimes you just want to listen to stories about myths
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  Elaine Skinner

  My son and I are reading the Percy Jackson series together and he expressed an interest in learning more mythology so I incorporated this into our homeschool lessons. My son enjoyed these stories because he was thrilled to recognize characters from Percy Jackson and The Odyssey which we are using for our literature study. I was a bit uncomfortable with all the references to sex. As we all know Zeus was a horndog. The references to him turning into an animal to copulate were slightly shocking. I had assumed that a book found in the children's section of the library would have omitted those things. My bad for not reading it first. Thankfully my son didn't seem to notice. "He came to her as a swan" isn't vivid imagery but as an adult I knew what it meant. There are other references to beastiality as well.
  
  I'm not incredibly well versed in mythology but the stories seemed accurate based on my knowledge. I found the writing a bit jarring as if it has been translated from another language. I think there are better options out there.
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  Cheryl

  I enjoy watching Jeopardy and the show often has a category on Greek Mythology. I know I learned about Greek Mythology in school when I was very young but I don't remember much of it. My 5 year old grandson is reading the illustrated Harry Potter books so I ordered this book with the idea that I could brush up on Greek Mythology and if I thought he would like it, I would pass the book on to him after reading it. The illustrations are beautifully done and the stories of the Greek gods and goddesses are very interesting. That said, I did not remember how violent the gods were to each other and to mortals, how vengeful the gods were, how promiscuous the gods were so after reading this book, I'm not passing this on to my grandson anytime soon. It would be too scary for him and too much explaining for me. Giving this book to my grandson would be like having him go from Harry Potter to Steven King. Nevertheless, was a very interesting book and I enjoyed reading it.
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  Amy Braun

  I absolutely love these books, and this one was everything I could have hoped for. Greek mythology is my favourite, and reading classic stories with unique and beautiful artwork simply made my day. The stories flowed beautifully, and the author did not shy away from the cruel nature of the gods and heroes. She even added in a few instances of sarcasm and wit to lighten the tales.
  
  The book is gorgeously designed and I was truly stunned by many of the images. There is little more that I can say about this book that hasn't been said before. It truly is a treasure and while I've read all these stories before, it was a joy to rediscover them.
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  Katherine

  ”In reading the myths, we begin to understand that the ancient Greeks must have wanted more than just the big answers from their gods. They must have also wanted their gods to be a reflection that could help them understand themselves.”
  
  3.5 out of 5 stars
  
  If you live in the Western world and have gone to school, then you probably remember the lessons in school that you were taught about mythology. When schoolkids think of that word, I’ll bet you that the first word that comes to mind is “Greek”. The Greek myths are some of the best-known myths in the world, with their gods that are seemingly immortal but often act anything but godlike. As the above quote put it, the Greeks gave their deities human like qualities because they wanted to see a reflection of themselves in said gods. Clearly their storytelling had immense power, because we’re still reading about and talking about their stories to this day. In this collection, Donna Jo Napoli retells some of the most famous myths of the ancient Greek and gives an all too human spin on the gods, goddesses, and heroes we all know and love.
  
  The stories in this collection are told in a sequential manner. I actually liked this method because it allowed the book to have almost a uniform touch to it. It made the book read more like a novel than just a selection of stories. However, I do think Napoli had varying ideas when it came to deciding who she wanted to write for, audience wise. At times, the stories read as thought they were being told for young children; at other times, it felt like they were being retold with older children in mind.
  
  If anything, read this book for the illustrations alone. They are absolutely stunning.
  
  I wasn’t sure I’d like the abstract, geometrical artwork of this book, but it surprised me. The color and vibrancy of Christina Balit’s pictures is simply astonishing.
  
  Despite this being a rather solid book, it dragged on towards the end. The myths went from being bite-sized to being a little longer, and my interest waned a bit. Some of the stories differed slightly from how I remembered reading them in school (and scholars talking about them), and there was such a big cast of characters that I had some trouble remembering who they all were. If you need to keep a notebook handy to figure out who is who, that’s not a great sign.
  
  Having read almost all of Donna Jo Napoli’s books, I was pleasantly surprised that there was a collection of stories by her in conjunction with National Geographic that I hadn’t read. Being a major fan of her dark fairytale retellings, I immediately ordered them and waited eagerly to start reading them. What I got was a solid collection of stories that retell the most famous Greek myths, but it dragged on towards the end. I''ll definitely pick up the other installments of her retellings series, but if you want bite-sized that's kid friendly with gorgeous illustrations, I suggest you pick up The Children's Book of Myths and Legends by Ronne Randall. It was one of my favorite books growing up, and it contains all of the things I mentioned above, plus a deep dive into different cultures and mythologies other than your typical Greek and Roman myths.
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  cindy

  Yang plg ingin kubaca dr seri treasure-nya NetGeo kok malah yg plg gak cetar ya... apa karena kebanyakan sdh tahu duluan cerita dewa dewi n heroes yg dibahas di sini jd baca yg ini malah, ya gitulaaah. Selain itu ada typo di sana-sini, juga salah sebut nama.
  
  Tapi edisinya sangat lux, kertas licin, hardcover, ilustrasi cantique. Sangat pantas untuk dikoleksi.
  
  Imho, kl yg norse myth, aku lbh suka versi Neil Gaiman, greek myth ini aku lbh suka versi edannya Percy Jackson.
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  Giki

  beautifully written and illustrated. This carefully edited selection of tales provides a broad grounding in greek mythology. Designed to capture a childs interest and encourage them to find out more. I bought it for my 8 year old son who was studying greece as a topic at school. He has thourghly enjoyed reading it and discussing the storys. It remains a firm favorite in our house
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  Beverly

  This excellent compilation briefly tells the stories of 19 gods and goddesses and 6 mortal heroes. Each story is about 4 - 6 pages long. Christina Balit illustrates the book with bold, stylized paintings. The back matter includes a map of Greece, a timeline of events in Greek history, a cast of characters with brief info on each, a bibliography, and index.
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  David Blynov

  A well written narration of Greek mythology, spanning from early Titans to late heros.
  
  4.4/5