title: The Dictionary of Classical Mythology: The Indispensable Guide for All Students and Readers of Ancient and Modern Literature and Art
author: John Edward Zimmerman
description: "A knowledge of classical mythology is indispensable in understanding and appreciating much of the great literature, sculpture, and painting of both the ancients and the moderns. Unless we know the marvelous stories of the deities and heroes of the ancients, their great literature and art as much later work down to the present day will remain unintelligible. Through the centuries from Chaucer, Spencer, Shakespeare, and Milton on, not only the major writers but also hundreds of lesser writers have retold the old tales or used them as a point of departure for new interpretations in terms of contemporary problems and psychology."--From author's Introduction
zlib_text: Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  **VERY SHORT INTRODUCTIONS** are for anyone wanting a stimulating and
  accessible way in to a new subject. They are written by experts, and have been
  published in more than 25 languages worldwide.
  
  
  The series began in 1995, and now represents a wide variety of topics in
  history, philosophy, religion, science, and the humanities. Over the next few
  years it will grow to a library of around 200 volumes - a Very Short
  Introduction to everything from ancient Egypt and Indian philosophy to
  conceptual art and cosmology.
  
  
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  **Very Short Introduction available now** :
  
  
  AFRICAN HISTORY **John Parker and Richard Rathbone**
  
  
  THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY **Charles O. Jones**
  
  
  ANARCHISM **Colin Ward**
  
  
  ANCIENT EGYPT **Ian Shaw**
  
  
  ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY **Julia Annas**
  
  
  ANCIENT WARFARE **Harry Sidebottom**
  
  
  ANGLICANISM **Mark Chapman**
  
  
  THE ANGLO-SAXON AGE **John Blair**
  
  
  ANIMAL RIGHTS **David DeGrazia**
  
  
  ARCHAEOLOGY **Paul Bahn**