Ebook: Handbook of classical mythology

1. Introduction -- Basic concepts -- How classical mythology came into being -- A mix of traditions -- The archaic period -- The classical period -- The Hellenistic and Imperial periods -- Interpretatio Romana -- Classical mythology after antiquity -- How do we know about classical mythology today? -- The mythological worlds : places -- Earth -- Sky -- Death realm -- Tartaros -- Physical model versus biological model -- The mythological world : characters -- The principal Gods -- The nature of Gods and humans -- Nature spirits -- The relationship of Gods and humans -- Peculiarities of mythological narrative -- Supernaturalism -- Personification and reification -- Binatural beings versus composite beings -- Reversible and irreversible changes.;An introduction to the mythological world of the Greeks and the Romans, combined with a chronology of myths and a dictionary of key characters, objects, and events.