Overall, it is a detailed, highly researched, reference book. Each of these assertions are extremely interesting, but need a whole chapter, even a book, to fully explain it. One concludes also because it comes up again and again, that every female deity/figure is a manifestation of the 3-faced moon goddess. Some of the sources are cryptic, as when Graves says a story is a "misinterpretation" of an icon that depicts an event or deity, but he doesn't state where this "icon" can be seen and how he came to the conclusion that is was "misinterpreted". Graves also gives short explanations of the underlying historical meaning of some of the myths, such as: some stories indicate a suppression of particular deities due to war or incorporation by a foreign culture. Each chapter tells the story of a particular figure with notes on sources, and variations on the story/characters. The organization of the themes and deities is chronological, that is, it starts with Greek creation myths, the birth of the gods, and then expands to include every god, demi-god, nymph, and mortal being who had anything to do with the gods. This collection of Greek myths is for the student and scholar of mythology, not for someone who wants an easily readable compendium of myths.
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