Best Greek Mythology Books in the UK

There are books that become bestsellers straight away and carry their popularity through generations. Mythology by Edith Hamilton is one of such books. First published in 1942, it has sold millions of copies worldwide since then and become a piece of mythology classics. Having been favoured by readers for decades, today, this book is available in all most popular formats including CD, MP3, and Kindle edition as well as prestigious hardcover and mass-market paperback formats. So, whether you are an old-fashioned bookworm or a modern reading fan, it will get you covered.

Myths have long outlived their creators and are still a part of our lives. Edith Hamilton took it as a basis when making up her mythology compendium and brought to a modern reader a precious collection of Greek, Roman, and Norse myths that are considered the keystones of the whole Western culture. You’ll meet Greek deity pantheon of Olympus and Norse gods in Valhalla, read the legendary stories of Odysseus and Jason, and immerse in the drama of the Trojan war.

While making her myth research, the author drew inspiration from the timeless pieces of poetry from Homer, Sophocles, and Aeschylus. However, in retelling traditional myths, Hamilton not only throws dry facts at the reader but also provides context and her own outlay, with a lot of focus on heroes. As you read, you'll discover the origins of many names and constellations and come across references to modern works of art and literature. In the meantime, the prose is lucid and clear while the overall tone is poetic and evocative. Although some general understanding of the topic is needed, there is no need for deep or specific knowledge, making this book great for beginner adult readers.

Created thousands of years ago by people living in a whole different era, myths will never lose their value. Despite huge technological progress, today, people don’t seem to change too much and face the same psychological and personal problems as their ancient predecessors. So, the moral these tales bring is still up-to-date. And if you are looking for a starting point to begin an exciting mythology journey, D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths will suit you to a tee.

The book is deemed to be a piece of timeless classic for adults and kids alike, and deservedly so. Built around the most famous legends and tales of ancient Greece, the selection of myths in this edition is greatly systematised. It starts with Gaia and Uranus followed by Cronos, proceeds to Zeus with the rest of major Olympian gods, and then goes down to other minor mythic creatures and mortals. With all the inherent brutal weirdness of myths, D’Aulaires managed to retell them in a carefully worded and refined style with a slight touch of humour and present them in an enthralling and evocative manner. The language is not too simplified and relatively sophisticated, so it is still understandable for older kids above eight years old.

Yet, what makes this book really shine is skilful and incredibly detailed portraits of deities, heroes, and monsters giving an impression they are still alive and making the stories even more engaging. Those descriptions are further enhanced and supported by numerous vivid illustrations that literally interpret the text. They range from character images to drawings of ancient Greece maps to pictures of constellations and mythical events. Bright and lavish, some of those illustrations are page-size and work great to visualise the mythic scenes and let the reader plunge into the ancient atmosphere.

Most kids like monsters, non-real beings, and fantastic creatures that dwell in a fascinating and wonderful fairytale world. And only a few of them know that many mythic characters of modern stories originate from Greek mythology characters that are larger than life. Hence, if you want to introduce your kids to Greek myths in an interesting and fun way, Treasury of Greek Mythology by Donna Jo Napoli is one of the best mythology books for children.

Part of the National Geographic Kid series, this book is the result of the fruitful and successful collaboration between award-winning author Donna Jo Napoli and award-winning illustrator Christina Balit, two people who did their best to make those timeless classic stories attractive and understandable for little readers. The language used is free from fancy and complicated words and is very poetic, making up the lucid and flowy narration. Meanwhile, a family tree and the characters’ profile help smaller readers trace the relationships between characters as well as their origins.

Kids are visual learners. Knowing this, the book abounds in bright, vivid, and catchy illustrations that will immediately draw the attention of young readers. Full-body images and detailed portraits of mythological figures, as well as pictures of associated symbols, are drawn in splendid Art Deco style mixing sharp lines with a rich and flashy colour palette.

If you are an aspiring mythographer or a mythology buff in search of a full compilation of Greek myths to dig deeper and detail your knowledge of Greek mythology, you’ll surely hit the spot with The Greek Myths by Robert Graves.

To start off, unlike many others, Robert Graves was both a writer and a scholar. Hence, on 784 pages, you’ll get one of the biggest and most complete myth collections that covers pretty much all Greek mythology and is based on extensive and thorough scholar research. With that, though, the book is not a dry compendium of quotes from ancient manuscripts leaving the reader to decipher the meaning but wonderfully organised and beautifully told mythography with valuable comments and analysis.

Presented with the novelist's skill, each myth can be read as a single narrative. Yet, the author did not turn it into an adventurous and heroic story with a happy end. He sticks to the original storyline and masterfully discloses the inherent timeless moral via comments, cross-references, interpretations, and explanations. To be more precise, each section consists of a retold myth followed by footnote explanations and Grave’s comments. Notably, some myths come in several versions providing a bit different interpretations.

As for the content, the book will lead you from the creation of myths through heroic stories to Trojan war drama and include even less popular myths and legends you won’t find in other mythology books.

If you had a chance to read translated ancient texts of Greek myths, those tales would hardly seem so fascinating. These are retold versions arising in prose of every generation that popularised myths and made them so appealing for the readers of all times. Mythos by Stephen Fry is yet another attempt from our coeval to interpret the myths of ancient Greece and, we must admit, quite a successful one.

The first distinctive feature of this book that sets it apart from classic editions is that the author steps aside from proverbial stories of Odysseus, Hercules, Jason, Argonauts, and other famous Greek heroes and sets a focus on the myths about the appearance of titans, creation of Greek gods, and less known mythic characters. Beginning with Chaos-to-order myths, the author moves on to titans, the establishment of Olympus, the rising of gods, and the creation of humans. An interesting fact is that the writer skillfully describes all the tiniest details making up a wonderful mythic world as well as showing relations between gods to introduce the reader into the ancient Greek deity hierarchy. Besides, he weaves multiple references and footnotes into the text to provide cultural and historical details to highlight the myth's meaning and reveal linguistic roots of some terms.

A superb entertainer and orator, Stephen Fry is also an excellent narrator and he has used his unique wit to the full in this book. Sticking to original storylines, he demonstrates how old-time tales translate into modern problems in an easy-to-read manner. Meanwhile, Fry uses his signature writing style, which is light, charming, intelligent, and informative. Though he does use some complicated words, his texts are straightforward and interesting nonetheless.