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Resources

Some of my favourite general readership resources for exploring the ancient Greek world

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Ancient Greece

Jane Ellen Harrison was a leading light in the study of ancient Greek religion. Her works are a must read.

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Also recommended:

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The Histories, Herodotus (various accessible modern translations)

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Handbook To Life In Ancient Greece, Lesley Adkins and Roy A Adkins

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Sport and Games in the Ancient World, Vera Olivova

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Greek and Roman Folklore, William Halliday

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Food and Drink in Antiquity: A Sourcebook, John F Donahue

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The Mycenaeans

Mycenae: Agamemnon's Capital, Elizabeth French

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Mycenae: A Journey into the World of Agamemnon, Alkestis Papadimitriou and Elsi Spathari

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Mycenae: A Guide to Its Ruins and History, George E Mylonas

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Greece in the Bronze Age, Emily Vermeule

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Minoan and Mycenaean Art, Reynold Higgins (this book is lavishly illustrated)​

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The Mycenaean World, John Chadwick

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Troy

Celebrating Homer's Landscapes: Troy and Ithaca Revisted, J V Luce

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Homeric Sites Around Troy, Jonathan Brown

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Troy: Myth and Reality, Alexandra Villing, J Lesley Fitton, Victoria Donnellan and Andrew Shapland

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In Search of the Trojan War, Michael Wood​

Novels

Novels inspired by Greek mythology are enjoying a revival, with many reinterpretations from the perspectives of long-neglected women. Leading authors include Madeline Miller, Pat Barker and Natalie Haynes.

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Some earlier novels that I also love:

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Jason, Electra and Oedipus, Henry Treece (trilogy of gorgeously dark novels set in Mycenaean Greece)

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Ransom, David Malouf (Priam)

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Cassandra and Medea, Christa Wolf 

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The Songs of the Kings, Barry Unsworth (the Greek kings and Iphigenia)

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The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea, Mary Renault​ (Theseus)

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The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood (Penelope)

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Weight, Jeanette Winterson (Atlas and Heracles)

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Bright Air Black, David Vann (Medea)​

Mythology

Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus are sources for some of the most famous Greek myths. I particularly recommend translations by Anne Carson.​

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Also recommended:

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The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Pierre Grimal

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The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology, Robin Hard

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Greek Myths: A new retelling, Charlotte Higgins (centres female characters)

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The Greek Myths, Robert Graves (enjoy with a large dose of salt)

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Greek Mythology Link website​

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Theoi Greek Mythology website

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Poetry in Translation (huge open-access archive of classic texts, both ancient and modern)

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