Hark, the sea is silent, the breezes silent too:
The pain within my breast, though--it will not be stilled.
ἠνίδε σιγῇ μὲν πόντος, σιγῶντι δ᾽ ἀῆται:
ἁ δ᾽ ἐμὰ οὐ σιγῇ στέρνων ἔντοσθεν ἀνία
--Theocritus, Idyll 2.38-39
do you have any recs for books about greek mythology written by greek authors (aside from homer lol)? i'm greek and live in the western diaspora, so the only ones i know of are by americans (or ovid, bleh). basically i would love a reading list from you
🔷 Reading List on Greek Mythology 🔷
First of all, I found this old post of mine, so it's time to resurface it!
My initial advice is to focus on one story at a time, or one major deity at a time, and slowly more stories will unravel.
I don't think I could find a manageable number of books on Greek mythology by Greeks in Greece because there must be.... a lot. And, tbh, I am very exposed to Greek mythology through other means so I don't actively seek the books. Many of their works are free online if you search them in Greek, through educational initiatives/sites like Βικιθήκη (link) or Project Gutenberg.
You can find whatever book but always look for their sources. Good sources would be Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, Apollodorus (the Athenian), Bacchaelides (Βακχυλίδης), Theokritos, Diodorus the Sicilian, Strabo, the Homeric Hymns, or any ancient Greek hymns in general, ancient Greek plays, e.g. by Aristophanes, Euripides, and Sophocles. Different ancient works fill the gaps we may have for certain stories. Of course, you can read the sources themselves as they have been translated from ancient to modern Greek many times. They can be quite cheap to find, actually, at least in Greece.
You might also want to check, from the Hellenistic period, Apollonius of Rhodes, Callimachus, Eratosthenes, and Parthenios. Wikipedia also provided the later ones (Roman to "Byzantine" era) like Coidus the Smyrnaean (Κόιντος ο Σμυρναίος), Nonnos the Panopolit with his Dionysiaca and I add them here because they are still ancient and record a later "version" of the Greek myths within Greek culture because the myths didn't stop existing and evolving after the time the periods the West was interested in xD (Or maybe they contain very old versions too, that were not saved in other works)
Also take a look at these Byzantine works :O "Άλλα έργα που βοήθησαν σημαντικά στη συντήρηση των μύθων είναι το λεξικό του Ησύχιου, η Σούδα, και οι πραγματείες του Ιωάννη Τζέτζη και του Ευστάθιου Θεσσαλονίκης."
Another option is searching online for Greek bookstores that deliver to your country. I actually delayed this answer because I could not find my answer with different Greek bookstores abroad. I didn't find them, sadly, only this one: https://www.hellenicbookservice.com and www.greek-language.gr . The rest will be found by some good google research on your part (In Greek and in English. Usually the Greek title of the ancient book + the word "pdf").
http://www.mikrosapoplous.gr/t2t.htm is also another nice site I discovered for that purpose!
Βικιθήκη has the ancient texts and you might be able to read them and understand them, depending on your knowledge of Greek. But you can also find the English translations online and then compare them to the ancient Greek text, to see if they are any good. After searching on Βικιθήκη for Ησίοδος, I found this for Έργα και Ημέραι
Another example, look at this online passage from greek-language.gr (link)
If you want a general overview on where to start, I think choosing one deity or myth from here might help!
For some quick research, theoi.com could also be a good start, as it may have some small inaccuracies but generally, it's a decent source if you want to find your way around the myths. But I really mean it when I say it should be a "start". Because what you should focus on first should be the ancient sources the text on the site will highlight. (And you already asked for books here, so you know where you are heading)
The internet is a goldmine of knowledge and όποιος ψάχνει, βρίσκει 😉
You can of course also read analyses by different authors, but again you have to keep in mind their agenda or when they are coming from. For example, I recommend (many times refuted) Black Athena as I recommend any book by Adonis Georgiades (aka: not at all! 😂😂) And see how each author presents each source and if their case goes against the general consensus of writers who were more in check by the scientific community.
I also have a Greek channel about Greek mythology to suggest. Sometimes there are English subs. The Greek guy is an archeologist and strongly relies on ancient Greek sources, combining them with his own academic knowledge on Greek myth interpretation. This one is about Zeus and Hera, and why Zeus is *not an asshole* xD
I really hope I covered you with this one! I am very sorry I was late to answer but I was searching into the corners of my mind for older posts I could reference here, and of course making sure I had everything listed on the text.
Καλή συνέχεια! 💙💙💙
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If you made it this far (you, and you, and you, and you!), for the thousands of posts with resources I've made on Greek ancient and modern Greek culture, consider buying me a tiropita coffee 💜
Here’s an idea I’ve had for a cartoon series called Theokritos.
It’s about some dweeby student of philosophy from ancient Greece named Theokritos who, unbeknownst to him, is perpetually being tormented by the gods because he doesn’t believe in them. It’s up to his mythological friends to help protect him from them. They are the energetic and ever-vigilant Alexis the Centaur and the less-than-intelligent Cyclops Sisters Guh (the older one) and Buh (the other one).
