The reading room · Primary sources
Meet the texts behind the myths. Start with Hesiod for the Greek gods, Homer for epic heroes, and the Eddas for the surviving Norse traditions.
Ancient primary text
Hesiod · Archaic Greece
Begin here for the relationships among the primordial beings, Titans and Olympians. The poem follows divine generations rather than telling every adventure of every god.
Where to startStart with the opening invocation, then follow the succession of divine rulers.
Included in Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica.
Public domain in the USA, as stated by Project Gutenberg.
Ancient primary text
Homer · Archaic Greece
Read for Achilles, Hector and the gods who intervene in the Trojan War. The poem concentrates on a short stretch of the conflict; it does not narrate the whole war or the Trojan Horse.
Where to startBegin with Book 1 for the quarrel that sets the story in motion.
An English prose translation; the ancient poem is in verse.
Public domain in the USA, as stated by Project Gutenberg.
Ancient primary text
Homer · Archaic Greece
Follow Odysseus’s difficult homecoming alongside Penelope and Telemachus. Monsters are only part of a story about hospitality, identity, loyalty and returning to a changed household.
Where to startRead from Book 1; Books 9–12 contain Odysseus’s account of his travels.
An English prose translation; the ancient poem is in verse.
Public domain in the USA, as stated by Project Gutenberg.
Medieval compilation
Anonymous / various poets · Medieval Icelandic collection, preserving older poetry
A collection of poems rather than a single continuous mythology handbook. Read the individual voices alongside one another: prophecy, advice, arguments and heroic stories do different kinds of work.
Where to startStart with Völuspá for a creation-to-destruction perspective, then try Hávamál.
The linked edition contains lays of the gods and lays of the heroes.
Public domain in the USA, as stated by Project Gutenberg.
Medieval compilation
Snorri Sturluson · 13th-century Iceland
Snorri’s medieval account connects myths with the language of poetry. It is a major witness to Norse traditions, written after Iceland’s conversion to Christianity, rather than an untouched Viking-age record.
Where to startBegin with Gylfaginning, the question-and-answer account of the gods.
Published on Gutenberg under the title The Younger Edda.
Public domain in the USA, as stated by Project Gutenberg.
Find a reading path that separates story collections from translations.
Greek mythology books →Norse mythology books →