Crete: Myths and Mythology books

The Complete World of Greek Mythology - by Richard Buxton (hardcover, 240 pages, June 2004)

Book Description
A full, authoritative, and wholly engaging account of these endlessly fascinating tales and of the ancient society in which they were created.

Greek myths are among the most complex and influential stories ever told. From the first millennium BC until today, the myths have been repeated in an inexhaustible series of variations and reinterpretations. They can be found in the latest movies and television shows and in software for interactive computer games.

This book combines a retelling of Greek myths with a comprehensive account of the world in which they developed—their themes, their relevance to Greek religion and society, and their relationship to the landscape.

Complemented by lavish illustrations, genealogical tables, box features, and specially commissioned drawings, this will be an essential book for anyone interested in these classic tales and in the world of the ancient Greeks. 250 illustrations, 120 in color.

Review from Amazon.com:

I've been picking through the gamut of Greek myth texts for an introductory course, and I was fortunate to come across this beauty. It's not just a mythology text that the art historian can use, it's the ONLY classical myth "textbook" I have encountered that could legitimately appeal to art history classes. There are illustrations (usually color photos) on every page. The quality of the pages and binding itself is also really quality stuff. The narration is pretty standard. It's more of a summary text kind of thing than the various excerpts you find in other classical myth texts. I wouldn't use any of the other mythology texts, but this one makes a wonderful supplement to primary source material such as Homer, Hesiod and/or the tragedians. This thing raises the bar for the presentation of classical myth books.

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Titles you can find in the Cretan (& Greek) "Mythology" section include:
The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables (Children's Illustrated Classics)
Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths
The Children's Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy
Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives
The Adventures Of Ulysses
The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus
Favorite Greek Myths
Images of Myths in Classical Antiquity
and many more...

The Power of the Bull - by Michael Rice (hardcover, 316 pages, January 1998)

Book description
Everyone has heard of the Minotaur in the labyrinth on Crete and many know that the Greek gods would adopt the guise of a bull to seduce mortal women. But what lies behind these legends?
The Power of the Bull discusses mankind's enduring obsession with bulls. The bull is an almost universal symbol throughout Indo-European cultures and cults proliferated in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Michael Rice's examination of the bull from earliest prehistory onwards reveals it to be a symbol of political authority, sexual potency, economic wealth and vast subterranean powers. In some areas representations of the bull have varied little from the end of antiquity, in others it has changed vastly over centuries. This volume provides a well-illustrated and accessible analysis of the exceptionally rich, artistic inheritance associated with the bull.