The school curriculum in pre-revolutionary Russia on mandatory conditions, in addition to the "Law of God," included an introduction to the myths of ancient Greece. Acquaintance with them was an indicator of a person’s education, and ignorance immediately betrayed an impostor, positioning himself as a “person from society”, even if he had exquisite manners. An enlightened man of that time could not help but read The Myths of Ancient Greece, a brief summary of which was already secretly distributed among young people who did not find time to study all labor. Without the knowledge of the exploits of Hercules, it would be impossible to read and film the "Andromeda Nebula" of Efremov, so popular among the people.
In almost any
work of art, anyone who reads is confronted with names or analogies associated with these myths. Geographic names are associated with them, especially in the Mediterranean region, dishes and much more. And to a person who is familiar with ancient Greek culture, even the names of
modern books in which gods and heroes are mentioned, immediately speak of the tragic fate of the heroes. And it’s better to read classical authors with the Mythological Dictionary nearby.
The most successful, concise and capacious ancient Greek legends were described by N. Kun. "Myths of Ancient Greece" of this author is the most popular book in demand today. It gives an idea of the classical works of Homer, Euripides, Virgil and Hesiod in a concise and understandable way for the average person.
Despite the conciseness (in comparison with the primary sources) of the presentation, the work of N. Kuhn cannot be regarded as simply described briefly "Myths of Ancient Greece." This is a sufficiently detailed account of all the main events of ancient Greek mythology. But acquaintance with myths is necessary, as they, without exaggeration, lie at the heart of world culture.
Given the busyness of modern man and the need to possess at least basic knowledge in this area, and various similar publications have been created, these include the “Myths of Ancient Greece”.
The summary, however, cannot be called dry and devoid of the beauty of the artistic syllable.
The content of the book by N. Kuhn, compiled in more than detail, mentions the names of absolutely all gods and heroes and lists all the events that are more fully described in the collection "Myths of Ancient Greece". The summary allows us to sufficiently understand the depth of the described events.
It is impossible to imagine that Homer, even in the translation of Zhukovsky and Gnedich, will be read in large quantities, but N. Kuhn’s book can and should be read. It is entertaining, exciting, informative and fully justifies the time spent on it.
In Soviet times, a lot of good animated films were released dedicated to Theseus, Perseus, Heracles. Hollywood generally exploits this theme, not disdaining the complete alteration of eternal stories.
Actually, watching a number of films can replace reading the book Myths of Ancient Greece, the directors try to convey the most complete and vivid summary of these myths.