Edith Hamilton’s M y t h o l o g y
Honors English 10: Summer Reading Assignment
The stories in Edith Hamilton’s Mythology represent some of humanity’s earliest
attempts to understand life and to make sense of the world. For many centuries,
people have been surprised by the power of these tales of gods, goddesses,
heroes and monsters.
“My hope is that those who do not know the classics will gain…(an) idea of what
the writers were like who told them – who have been proved, by two thousand
years and more, to be immortal.” -- Edith Hamilton
You will not be reading and taking notes on the entire book, so be sure to
cover only the following sections. I will check your notes and give you a
quiz in the second week of school. For each item, jot down just enough to
demonstrate that you’ve read the book, and complete sentences aren’t
necessary.
Notes
* Introduction
Describe the Greek and Roman imagination.
What is the importance of the Iliad?
What is “the Greek miracle?”
How do the Greeks compare to the Egyptians?
What is “the terrifying irrational?”
How did Zeus change over time?
* Chapter 1: for each, you should be able to match the Greek name to
the Roman name and define (for example, Aphrodite: goddess of love).
Zeus (Jupiter)
Poseidon (Neptune)
Hades (Pluto)
Hera (Juno)
Athena (Minerva)
Apollo (also Apollo in Rome)
Aphrodite (Venus)
Ares (Mars)
Hermes (Mercury)
Artemis (Diana, Hecate)
Eros (Cupid)
The Underworld
The Elysian Fields
Styx and Lethe rivers
Demeter (Ceres)
Dionysus (Bacchus)
Pan
Saturn
over 
Make a brief outline for each of the following stories:
* Chapter 2: the story of the seasons, and Persephone (Proserpine).
* Chapter 3: the creation, Zeus, Titans, Giants, plus Pandora’s Box.
* Chapters 3 & 4: Prometheus
* Chapter 5: Pygmalion & Galatea
* Chapter 8: Daedalus & Icarus
* Chapter 9: Perseus
* Chapter 10: Theseus
* Chapter 11: Hercules
* Chapters 13 & 14: The Trojan War, The Fall of Troy
* Chapter 18: Oedipus, Antigone
* Chapter 20: Midas
* Chapter 21: Amazons, Arachne, Hero & Leander, Orion, Sisyphus
Pronunciation Guide for Selected Names:
Aeneas: Ih-NEE-us (The Ih-NEE-id)
Antigone: An-TIG-a-nee
Aphrodite: Afro-DITE-ee
Arachne: A-RACK-nee
Ares: AIR-eez
Artemis: ART-ah-miss
Athena: Ah-THEE-nah
Bacchus: BOCK-iss
Daedalus: DEAD-uh-les
Demeter: Di-MEE-tur
Dionysus: Di-oh-NEE-sus
Elysian: Ah-LEEZ-ee-in
Eros: AIR-os
Galatea: Ga-LAY-tee-ah
Hades: HAY-deez
Hecate: HECK-ate
Hera: HAIR-ah
Hermes: HER-meez
Lethe: LEE-thee
Odysseus: Oh-DISS-ee-us (The ODD-ah-see)
Oedipus: ed-a-pis
Persephone: Per-SEFF-oh-nee
Perseus: PER-see-us
Prometheus: Pro-MEE-thee-us
Proserpine: Pro-SURP-ah-nee
Pygmalion: Pig-MAY—li-un
Sisyphus: SIS-a-fiss
Theseus: THEE-see-us
Copies of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology are available at local
book stores and Amazon.com; a few copies may be
borrowed from the KFLMC or from Mr. Frengel.