ABSTRACT
Three good dictionaries of classical mythology are currently available in English. The oldest is that of Pierre Grimal, which was first published in Paris in 1951; it has been issued in two English editions, as The Dictionary of Classical Mythology (Blackwell, Oxford, 1986, a full translation with references to ancient sources) and as The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology (1991, abridged with some alterations, without references). It is useful and generally reliable, if perhaps somewhat dull. An edition of Edward Tripp’s Meridian Handbook of Classical Mythology has been published in Britain as Collins Dictionary of Classical Mythology (2002). It concentrates for the most part on myths from the more accessible sources and main ancient anthologies, but it is broader in its range of reference than the other two dictionaries in some other respects, for it includes entries on peoples, places, and authors. Readers who have no special knowledge of the ancient world may find it particularly helpful for that reason. Jenny March’s Cassell Dictionary of Classical Mythology (London, 1998) is scholarly and accessible, a model of its kind; it is both enjoyable to dip into and useful as work of reference.
