A Companion to Greek Mythology presents a series of essays that explore the phenomenon of Greek myth from its origins in shared Indo-European story patterns and the Greeks’ contacts with their Eastern Mediterranean neighbours through its development as a shared language and thought-system for the Greco-Roman world.

• Features essays from a prestigious international team of literary experts
• Includes coverage of Greek myth’s intersection with history, philosophy and religion
• Introduces readers to topics in mythology that are often inaccessible to non-specialists
• Addresses the Hellenistic and Roman periods as well as Archaic and Classical Greece

European Paganism provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of ancient pagan religions throughout the European continent.
Before there where Christians, the peoples of Europe were pagans. Were they bloodthirsty savages hanging human offerings from trees? Were they happy ecologists, valuing the unpolluted rivers and mountains? In European Paganism Ken Dowden outlines and analyses the diverse aspects of pagan ritual and culture from human sacrifice to pilgrimage lunar festivals and tree worship. It includes:
* a 'timelines' chart to aid with chronology
* many quotations from ancient and modern sources translated from the original language where necessary, to make them accessible
* a comprehensive bibliography and guide to further reading.

Numerosi sono i miti greci in cui si parla del destino delle fanciulle uccise, sacrificate, impiccate, trasformate in uccelli, vacche, cervi, alberi - o addirittura relegate nel mondo infero. Nella presente opera Ken Dowden, servendosi di un metodo tratto dall'antropologia comparativa, situa questi miti nel contesto culturale, geografico e storico dell'antica Grecia, e propone una teoria articolata e dettagliata in cui essi sono collegati a un rituale comune: il rito di passaggio cui sono sottoposte le fanciulle che fanno il loro ingresso nella pubertà. Allo stesso tempo, l'autore esamina i corrispondenti riti dell'iniziazione maschile, e il rinnovamento dell'intera società, che ha luogo a intervalli regolari.

In an innovative sequence of topics, Ken Dowden explores the uses Greeks made of myth and the uses to which we can put myth in recovering the richness of their culture. Most aspects of Greek life and history - including war, religion and sexuality - which are discernable through myth, as well as most modern approaches, are given a context in a book which is designed to be useful, accessible and stimulating.