Apolladorus.
Gods and Heroes of the Greeks
. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts, 1976.
Translated by Michael Simpson from the Library of Apollodorus, and excellent ancient source for stories and myths. Complete life of Heracles.
Bulfinch, Thomas.
Bulfinch’s Mythology
. New York: Avenel Books, 1978.
Originally published in the 19th century, this anthology covers stories of Gods and Heroes, King Arthur, The Mabinogeon, Hero Myths of the British Race and Charlemagne. Pictures and maps from the New York Public Library.
Campbell, Joseph.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
. Bollingen Series XVII: Pantheon Books, 1949.
Famous book on myths, religious and folktales from many times and societies. Through them finding a symbolic language and universal meanings,
D’Aulaire’s, Ingri and Edgar.
Book of Greek Myths
. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1962.
Simple and accurate retelling with wonderful illustrations. Good for elementary and middle schools.
Euripides.
Alcestis
.
Euripides I
. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1955. Trans. Richard Lattimore.
Heracles rescues Alcestis from death. Good play for middle and high school students. Euripides may be more accessible to modern students. See unit in this book on
Alcestis
.
Euripides.
Heracles
.
Euripides II
. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1952. Trans. by William Arrowsmith.
Heracles’ killing of his wife and children during a fit of insanity brought on by Hera. Heracles is viewed sympathetically. Male chorus.
Galinsky, G. Karl.
The Herakles Theme
. Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1972.
A study of the tradition of Heracles in western literature from Homer to present time.
Gibson, Michael.
Gods, Men and Monsters from the Greek Myths
. New York: Schocken Books, 1982.
Beautifully illustrated and written, this is on a middle or high school reading level. Good for teachers too.
Green, Peter.
Ancient Greece, and illustrated History
. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1973.
A good general source book for ancient Greek History. Numerous and excellent photographs.
Hesiod.
The Works and Days, Theogony, The Shield of Herakles
. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press, 1959. Trans. by Richard Lattimore.
Hesiod was probably a contemporary of Homer also writing in verse.
The Works and Days
contains stories, proverbs and folksy advice from ancient times.
The Theogan
y is the geneoloy of the Gods.
The Shield of Herakles
is a wonderful description of Heracles’ and his shield. Selected passages could be read aloud.
Kerenyi, C.
The Heroes of the Greeks
. New York: Grove Press, 1956. Trans. by H.J. Rose.
A very readable book recounting the myths and stories. An extensive section on Heracles. Excellent plates of vase paintings depicting his exploits.
Lee, Stan.
Origins of Marvel Comics
. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1974.
The origins of the Hulk, The Thing, Spiderman, Thor, Dr. Strange and other modern superheroes in comicbook form. Narrative on the superheroes by their creator Mr. Lee.
Pinsent, John.
Greek Mythology
. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, 1969, 1982.
Part of a series,
Library of the World’s Myths and Legends
. Wonderful and extensive colored photographs of Greek art and architecture, including many vase depictions of Heracles.
Raglan, Fitzroy.
The Hero
. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1956.
Discusses myths of various heroes and their relationship to ritual and ritual drama.
Schoo, Jan H.
Hercules’ Labors
. Chicago: Argonaut Inc., 1969. Description of the twelve Labors and speculation on the symbolism therein.
Sophocles.
The Women of Trachis. Sophocles II
. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1957. Trans. by Michael Jamson.
Classic Greek tragedy. The death of Heracles. Deianeira has a major role. Female chorus.
Tripp, Edward.
The Meridan Handbook of Classical Mythology
. New York: New American Library, 1970.
An A-Z collection of stories and characters from classical mythology. Excellent bibliography. A very helpful source book.
Van der Heyden, A.A.M. and Scullard, H.H.
Atlas of the Classical
World
. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1959.
Good photographs and good maps.