Books

Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch’s Mythology: Complete and Unabridged. (New York: Random House, 1993).

Bulfinch's Mythology is a classic retelling of Greek myth. It includes poems and prose. It is the perfect resource for someone who is already somewhat familiar with Greek myth, or has already read Hamilton's Mythology, and they wish to step deeper into the pool. Some of the names are in Latin but that should not stop you.

Dickinson, Oliver. The Aegean Bronze Age. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).

This is an amazing resource for any GM trying to better understand the time period. It is a dense work more focused on archaeology than history, but it helps to set the stage for how these people lived. The mythologies do not focus on what types of food the Achaeans had available, but Dickinson's book gives us an image of what life was like, while backing it up with archaeological data.

Harris, Stephen L. and Gloria Platzner. Classical Mythology: Images and Insights. (Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1995).

This college textbook is very valuable. First it has a lot of information about how mythologies are presented and its nature. Then it also includes epic poems like The Iliad and plays like Agamenmnon or Oedipus Rex. As a historian I love turning to the primary sources, and this book provides a wealth of poems and plays in one book.

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. (New York: Warner Books, 1942).

This book is required reading in many High School English classes. If a GM wants to introduce their players to the topic then Hamilton is the way to do that. She retells the myths in an accessible way. It is a great resource to give to players who are in Jr. High or High School.

Price, Simon, and Emily Kearns. The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth & Religion. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).

This is a great desk resource for the GM trying to come up with interesting NPCs or Monsters. It is exhaustive with interesting information about many topics. It has everything from Achilles to Zeus. It also includes maps and genealogies of the gods.

Schofield, Louise. The Mycenaeans. (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2007).

This book is a history and archaeological record of the Mycenaeans. It has a lot of excellent photographs and was made with the help of the British Museum and the Getty Museum. It is useful for players and GMs to help visualize what the world is like. What sort of armor did they wear? What about the shape of their swords and spears? This book shows us how the Mycenaeans lived and what they made.

Strauss, Barry. The Trojan War. (New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2006).

This book is a retelling of the Trojan war with the assumption that it really happened. Strauss removes the gods and mythologies and instead tries to tell the story in combination with historical record and archaeological data. It is a short, quick read that provides a lot of background data.

Shanower, Eric. Age of Bronze, Vol. 1: A Thousand Ships. (Portland: Image Comics, 2001).

--------. Age of Bronze, Vol. 2: Sacrifice. (Portland: Image Comics, 2005).

--------. Age of Bronze, Vol. 3: Betrayal. (Portland: Image Comics, 2007).

--------. Age of Bronze, Vol. 3.B: Betrayal Part 2. (Portland: Image Comics, 2013).

Eric Shanower's comic series about the Trojan war is essentially required reading for any GM running The Heroic Age. I cannot stress enough how influential his beautiful artwork is to capturing the feel of the Aegean Bronze Age. He combines drama and historical accuracy to create something really special. My only lament is that he wipes away the more fantastically gods and nymphs to create a more historical story. That being said, it is an amazing work.