Words from the Myths
Cover scans
Click a cover for a larger version.
Synopsis
The book explains Greek mythology and its relationship to the English language in the form of its words ('chaos', 'cosmos', 'gigantic', 'atlas', 'ocean', 'Europe', 'cereal', 'phobia', 'demon', 'martial', 'vulcano', 'jovial', 'music', 'hygiene', 'siren', 'hubris', 'nemesis'). Asimov describes a lot of Greek mythology in-depth, but primarily for the purpose of explaining the origins and meanings of those words (and many others). He covers the titans, the Olympians, monsters, heroes and the siege of Troy.
Table of contents
- Introduction
- 1 The Beginning
- 2 The Titans
- 3 The Olympians
- 4 The Children of Zeus
- 5 Demigods and Monsters
- 6 Tales of Men
- 7 The Heroes
- 8 The Siege of Troy
- Epilogue
- General Index
- Mythological Index