Greek Gods, Human Lives

Two and a ½ out of Five Covers

This academic volume explores the influence and impact the Greek gods had on human lives anciently by describing the central role the gods played in the narratives as written by the Greeks and Romans.  Lefkowitz’s premise is that popular culture has emphasized the gods flaws, making them much more human that originally intended and that an examination of the original texts will correct this misunderstanding. 

The presentation of this thesis consists of retellings of the myths with some analysis.  However, this very format makes the premise suspect.  The author can retell the myths however she sees fit, emphasizing the role of the gods to conform to her thesis rather than the other way around.  I doubt very much that the author does this intentionally, but it still weakens her argument.

And they are not the most exciting retellings.  There is a certain dryness to the proceedings, feeling like a straightforward recounting of “this happened and then this happened,” rather than tapping in to the epic drama and action of these stories.  While this accusation could be accounted for by the volume being an academic text, there is also the fact that the author is providing an overview of the Iliad, the Odessey, and the Aneid as well as several other stories and plays.  Something will be lost in the summation.

None of this is to say that the work is not useful.  I’ve already applied some of the things I learned to a paper on Wonder Woman (doubtful the author ever thought that would happen).  But it did seem like a lot of treading over familiar ground to arrive at point.  More focus on analysis would have been beneficial.