Introduction_ How to Read Greek and Roman Mythology in a New Way

Chapter 1: Zeus and his family, who became gods of the Greeks

1.
Three Components of Greco-Roman Mythology
2.
When did the historical figure Zeus live?
3.
Zeus's War of Succession and Expansion of Power
4.
Zeus, born as a human and then a god
5.
His family who became gods with Zeus
6.
Zeus's brothers and sisters
Poseidon, god of the sea and father of countless sea monsters / Hades, god of the underworld and symbol of death and fear / Hestia, goddess of the hearth and center of the home
7.
Prometheus, the brother and progenitor of the Greeks
Prometheus, who created humans and gave them fire; Epimetheus and Pandora's box; Atlas and Menoetius, who suffered eternal punishment; Helen, the progenitor of the Greeks

Chapter 2: The Women of Zeus

1.
Metis, the first wife abandoned by Zeus
2.
Themis, the second wife who became the goddess of justice and law
3.
Third wife, Eurynome
4.
Demeter, the sister who became his wife
5.
Mnemosyne, the woman with beautiful hair
6.
Leto, Zeus's favorite woman
7.
Hera, the queen who became the embodiment of jealousy
8.
Maia, the daughter of a political enemy who became his wife
9.
Semele, the unfortunate woman who died as a result of Hera's plot
10.
Alcmene, a woman who was tricked by Zeus into conceiving a child
11.
Danae, the woman who united with Zeus in a bronze prison
12.
Io, a woman who was chased and turned into a cow
13.
Europa, the woman who became the name of a place on the European continent
14.
Aegina, the woman kidnapped by Zeus
15.
Leda, the woman who gave birth to two men's children at once
16.
Dione, the woman who gave birth to the most beautiful daughter
17.
Another daughter of the enemy, Electra
18.
Pluto, the woman who lived the most painful life
19.
Taigete, a woman dedicated with her sisters
20.
Callisto, the woman who became the Big Dipper
21.
Lamia, the poor woman who became a monster

Chapter 3: The Sons of Zeus

1.
Apollo, son of Leto
The all-rounder, the God of the Sun
2.
Hera's sons, Hephaestus and Ares
The god of fire with exceptional dexterity / A person with a broken personality who is hated even by his parents, the god of war and madness
3.
Hermes, son of Maia
A swindler skilled in scheming, the god of travel and commerce
4.
Dionysus, son of Semele
The heretic of an age that enjoyed a life of wandering and festivals, the god of wine
5.
Heracles, son of Alcmene
A mad hero who commits murder
6.
Perseus, son of Danae
Kill Medusa and enjoy all the glory
7.
Epaphos, son of Io
Founder of Memphis, Egypt
8.
Sons of Europa, Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Sarpedon
Minos, the legendary king who left behind the Minoan civilization / Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon, who were driven out by Minos
9.
Aiakos, son of Aegina
Ancestors of the Trojan War heroes
10.
Polydeuces, son of Leda
Become a Gemini
11.
Iasion and Dardanus, sons of Electra
Twin brothers Iasion and Dardanos
12.
Tantalus, son of Pluto
Trapped in Tartarus forever
13.
Lacedaemon, son of Taygete
founder of the Spartan kingdom
14.
Arcas, son of Callisto
The Story of Ursa Minor

Chapter 4: The Daughters of Zeus

1.
Athena, daughter of Metis
The goddess of wisdom with all kinds of abilities
2.
The daughters of Themis, the three Horae and the three Moirai sisters
The three Horai sisters who protect time and seasons / The three Moirai sisters who rule over human destiny
3.
The three Charites, daughters of Eurynome
The Three Graces, Symbols of Elegance
4.
Persephone, daughter of Demeter
Kidnapped by Hades and forced to become queen of the underworld
5.
Mnemosyne's daughters, the nine Muses
Musai goddess who governs music
6.
Artemis, daughter of Leto
A goddess obsessed with a vow of chastity
7.
Hera's daughters, Eileithyia and Hebe
Zeus's daughters who have no presence at all
8.
Helen, daughter of Leda
The Trojan War that caused the national anthem
9.
Aphrodite, daughter of Dione
The goddess known as Venus and a symbol of beauty

Chapter 5: The Story of the Greek Royal Family, Founded by Zeus's Descendants

1.
Mythological figures of the Theban royal family
Cadmus, who founded the Theban dynasty; Pentheus, who was torn to pieces by the worshippers of Dionysus; Amphion, who lost all his children and took his own life; Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother.
2.
Mythological figures of the Athenian royal family
Erichthonius, who founded the Kingdom of Athens / Aegeus, who became a legend in the Aegean Sea / Theseus, the greatest hero of Athens who united Attica
3.
Mythological figures of the Mycenaean royal family
The three sons of Perseus who became kings / Eurystheus who forced Heracles to perform the twelve labors / The twin brothers Atreus and Thyestes and Aegisthus / Agamemnon murdered by his wife

Chapter 6: The Argonauts' Expedition in Search of the Golden Fleece

1.
Jason, leader of the Argonauts, and the villainess Medea
Jason, who formed an expedition to find the Golden Fleece / The Adventures of the Argonauts / Medea, who made a name for herself as a villainess
2.
The love that transcended death of the legendary musician Orpheus
3.
Meleager and Atalanta, who cried and laughed in love
4.
The fathers of the Trojan heroes, Telamon and Peleus
5.
Bellerophon, who killed the Chimera and became a Greek hero
6.
Philoctetes, the archer who killed Paris

Chapter 7: The Trojan War and the Fall of Troy

1.
The establishment of the Trojan Kingdom and succession to the throne
2.
Paris's kidnapping of Helen
3.
Odysseus and Achilles participate in the war
4.
The tragic deaths of two women
Agamemnon sacrifices his eldest daughter Iphigenia / Laodameia follows her husband
5.
The conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon
6.
The Warriors of Patroclus and Hector
7.
The Death of Achilles and the Suicide of Ajax
8.
The Trojan Horse and the Vanishing Kingdom of Troy

Chapter 8: Mythical Characters and Monsters

1.
The Myth of Echo and Narcissus
2.
Pygmalion, who loved his own sculpture
3.
Dryope, the woman turned into a poplar tree
4.
The love between Pyramus and Thisbe, which created the legend of Odi
5.
Monsters of Greek mythology
The monsters born in the beginning, Gigantes / The man-eating Sphinx / The children of Typhon and Echidna: Chimera, Cerberus, Orthos, and Hydra / The only monsters capable of interacting with humans, the Centaurs

Chapter 9_ Major Writers and Works of Greco-Roman Mythology

1.
Homer, the veiled wandering poet
The Iliad, the oldest and greatest heroic epic, and the Odyssey, the origin of Western adventure fiction.
2.
Hesiod, a writer on par with Homer
The most authoritative genealogy of the Greek gods, Theogony
3.
Aeschylus, the master of Greek tragedy
Part 3 of the Oedipus tragedy, "The Seven Against Thebes" / The beginning of the Prometheus trilogy, "Prometheus Bound"
4.
Euripides, the most tragic poet
The Dionysians, which deals with the cult of Dionysus
5.
Sophocles, the pinnacle of Greek tragedy
The epitome of Greek tragedy: Oedipus the King
6.
Virgil, the Canon of Rome
The Aeneid, which mythologizes the founding of Rome
7.
Ovid, who ushered in the golden age of Roman literature
The most diverse myths in "Metamorphosis"

Easy, strong, solid!
From the birth and genealogy of the gods to love and desire, war and adventure.
There is no more novel Greco-Roman mythology than this.

Greek and Roman mythology—I've probably heard of them before, but why do I still find them confusing and hard to remember? Is there a way to unravel the complex web of myths in a simple and clear way? Park Young-gyu, a pioneer in popularizing history and a bestseller with 3 million readers, has published "A Refreshing Guide to Greek and Roman Mythology" for those who want to read the history of the gods in one volume.
From the birth and genealogy of the gods to love and desire, war and adventure, you can encounter Greco-Roman mythology in a refreshingly organized manner.


Why is it so difficult for us to grasp Greco-Roman mythology? The common answer is the overabundance of characters and episodes.
However, if you look at the main characters in Greco-Roman mythology, 80% of them are the supreme god Zeus, his family, and descendants.
Therefore, if you understand Zeus's genealogy, the myth is not difficult at all.
Zeus had relationships with 21 women, including Hera and Metis, and had 18 sons and 25 daughters, including Hermes, Perseus, and the Moirai sisters.
Zeus' descendants founded the major Greek royal houses, including Athens, Thebes, Mycenae, and Troy.
This book includes a family tree centered on Zeus, allowing a quick overview of Zeus's lineage, and a succession chart of the major Greek royal families.


The vast episodes of Greco-Roman mythology can also be concisely summarized as stories of struggles, love, heroes, adventures, and monsters.
If you know just these five keywords, the structure of the myth becomes clear.
It is difficult to understand the essence of Greco-Roman mythology by focusing only on literary symbols and meanings or listing episodes in fragments.
This book describes the unrealistic aspects of myths as realistically as possible, while presenting the stories within the myths in a simple and clear way, focusing on the characters.
This book condenses the essentials of Greco-Roman mythology into one volume.


History, mythology, and literature all in one!
Greek and Roman mythology through characters and keywords

The ancient founding myths of any country in the world are all composed of historical and mythical elements.
The author says that Greco-Roman mythology is no different.
The historical fact of Zeus, the founder of Greece, was religiously transformed into a myth, and later, as myths were accepted as literature for general education, today's Greek and Roman mythology was completed.
According to the author, Greco-Roman mythology is 'the culmination of the work of idolization that beautified the family history of Zeus through myth and literature.'
Therefore, to properly understand Greco-Roman mythology, we must distinguish between historical, mythological, and literary elements.


How long did Zeus, who was born as a human and became a god, live?
Greco-Roman mythology contains historical facts such as the founding of Greece by the historical figure Zeus, the war of succession to the throne, the process of expanding power, and relations with neighboring countries.
After Zeus dethroned his father Cronus, he waged war against Cronus's siblings, the Titans, and allied with the one-eyed Cyclops brothers.
In founding myths, foreigners are usually depicted as monsters or monstrous figures.
If we interpret the Cyclops in the same context, we can guess that Zeus brought in foreign peoples into the war against the allies of Cronus, described as the Titans, and that with their help he finally won.

So how can we estimate the time of Zeus's life? We can infer the time of his life from the Trojan War, which has been revealed as a historical fact through archaeological remains.
Since Agamemnon, the figure who led the Trojan War, was the fourth-generation descendant of Zeus, Zeus would have lived about 70 to 80 years before the war.
The outbreak of the Trojan War is generally estimated to have occurred in the late 13th century BC to early 12th century BC.
Therefore, the actual period of Zeus's activity can be compressed to the late 14th century BC to the late 13th century BC.


How did Greco-Roman mythology become literature?
Zeus, who became the king of the Greek region, was worshipped as an object of worship.
The Greeks elevated Zeus to the status of a god, making him the grandson of Uranus, the god of the sky, and Gaia, the goddess of the earth, and making him an object of religious worship.
This work of idolization reaches its peak when literary elements are added to the myth.
Greek mythology was intentionally created to educate the people, and by the Roman era, it had become a common knowledge that everyone should know, giving rise to many tragedies.


This book introduces major authors and works dealing with Greco-Roman mythology, showing when, by which authors, and in what form Greco-Roman mythology was created.
This explains why stories about the same person are told in so many different forms.
For example, the Roman saint Virgil wrote the Aeneid at the request of Emperor Augustus.
This work aimed to mythologize the founding of Rome by linking the brothers Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, with Aeneas, the hero of the Trojan War.
In this way, Greco-Roman mythology was expanded and reproduced in literature, and took on the complex form it has today.


Park Young-gyu, a best-selling historical author with 3 million copies sold
All the knowledge in the world is organized in a refreshing way!

The "Amazing Summary" series, a new introduction by Park Young-gyu, a pioneer in popularizing history, is an introductory book on knowledge and culture for those just beginning their studies.
It covers a wide range of fields, including world history and Greek and Roman mythology, and organizes all the world's knowledge in a refreshing way.
The best-selling 'Reading the Real History in One Volume' series fully demonstrates the 30 years of experience it has accumulated, spreading a wide range of knowledge beyond Korean history.


European scholarship and art cannot be discussed without mentioning Greco-Roman mythology.
You can master the core of Greek and Roman mythology, which has become a part of modern citizenry, in one volume, “Greek and Roman Mythology: A New Summary,” the second book in the “Amazing Summary” series.