Annas, Julia. "Plato" The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth, editors. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1998.
This entry described the life and works of Plato. Annas divides up this entry into topics of his life, ethical and political thought, knowledge and objects, soul and the cosmos, and later problems and methods. Each section, except his life, talks about his study and conclusions of the topic. Works that he wrote are used and then clarified and related to other topics. The article takes you step by step through the most important works and periods of Plato's life.
Bell, Robert E. Place Names in Classical Mythology: Greece. Santa Barbara, California : ABC-CLI. 1989.
This book explained the origin and history of many Greek cities. The book is arranged in alphabetical order with entries for each city. The entry explains who founded the city and the government structure with in it. The gods whom the citizens worshipped were included, such as the cults in Athens and Sparta. Major cults were discussed along with the temples found in the city. For the major cities the layout of the acropolis or city was also discussed. If the city had any importance in mythology this connection was also made.
Burkert, Walter. Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual. Berkeley : University of California Press. 1974.
This book is very informative about the structure and history of Greek religion and the rituals. It begins with an in depth explanation of the organization of myths followed by an explanation of the rituals. Burkert explains the basic forms of ritual and then ties the rituals to the myths. The book then focus on certain aspects of different myths such as Heracles and other animal tamers and idea of the scapegoat. Illustrations are used to further describe the structure or myth.
Cartledge, Paul Anthony and J. Robert Sallares. "Earthquakes" The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth, editors. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1998.
This entry in the book discussed that Greece experienced many earthquakes during the classical period. The explanations Greeks gave to the cause of the earthquakes were explained including the mythological and philosophical explanations.
Cole, Susan Guettel. "Greek Cults" Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome. Vol. 2 : Michael Grant and Rachel Kitzinger, editors. New York, NY : Charles Scribner's Sons. 1988.
This article explained the basics of cults in Greece. Descriptions of the festivals and rituals the cults held and performed were discussed and made up the main part of this article. Examples are given to different types of cults and how they differ. Festivals, particularly the ones held in Athens, were talked about and compare to other festivals. The reasons for festivals and rituals performed by cults were listed such as war and harvest. Rituals of the cults were briefly discussed in order to understand cults better.
Cotterell, Arthur. The Encyclopedia of Mythology. New York, NY: Smithmark Publishers. 1996.
The Encyclopedia of Mythology contains information of the myths and gods of Classical, Norse, and Celtic religion. The book contains explanation and stories of the main people and places in each of the different mythologies. These articles are arranged in alphabetical order and provide an overview of each topic. For almost every subject there is some sort of illustration to go along with the subject or myth. The book supplied a lot of information of the Greek gods and myths and gave a good summary of the importance of each god along with some myth containing the god.
Evslin, Bernard. Gods, Demigods, and Demons: An Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology. New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. 1975
This book is a easy-to-use reference book dealing with Greek mythology. Names, places, and events from the legends of ancient Greece are presented in briefly told stories. The book includes more than 540 alphabetical entries with a key to pronunciation. All the main gods are explained along with some of the lesser gods and the heros of Greek myth. The Roman counterparts are given where they apply.
Furley, David John. "Epicurus" The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth, editors. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1998.
In this entry the moral and natural philosopher, Epicurus is discussed. A brief history of his life is given while more detail is given to his works and ideals. The philosophy taught at his school were explained. His more important writings of physics and the idea of the atom were presented along with comparisons between him and Plato and Aristotle. Epicurus' moral philosophy was linked to his idea of physics and the soul and this comparison is made.
Graf, Fritz. "Ritual" The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth, editors Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1998.
This entry from the book gives a basic overview of the different types of rituals. A very basic and general description of rituals such as libation, sacrifice, and prayer are given, however, a more detailed description of the importance of the animal sacrifice id given. The entry also includes purification rituals to remove any pollution that was in the body. Another part of the group rituals that was presented in this entry was the initiation ritual.
Jameson, Michael H. "Sacrifice and Ritual: Greece" Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome. Vol. 2 : Michael Grant and Rachel Kitzinger, editors. New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons 1988.
In this article the ritual and sacrifice are explained in detail. The actual procedure is discussed along with the significance of the rituals. Sacrifice was a major part of the Greek religion and each of the three major types, food, votive, and animal, were explained along with which situations called for the different sacrifices. Animal sacrifice, being the most commonly performed was explained. The sacrifice was done as part of a ritual, and the other parts such a libation and prayer were talked about.
Kearns, Emily. "Cakes" The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth, editors Oxford:Oxford University Press. 1998.
This entry in the book is focused on cakes, the major sacrificial food. The entry explained the different types of cakes and how the different types were associated with the gods. These were the primary sacrifice of the lower classes.
Nussbaum, Martha C. "Aristotle" The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth,editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1998.
In this entry Aristotle's life and works were discussed in detail. Nussbaum goes through Aristotle's most important stages of his life and then discusses his work. Aristotle's process of developing ideas is presented along with many of his important conclusions about physics and nature. The more important works of Aristotle are explained, compared to other ideas, and then clarified.
Parker, Robert Christopher Towneley. "Sacrifice, Greece" The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth,editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1998.
While this entry did touch on the food and votive sacrifice, it main focus was the animal sacrifice. A step by step description was given of what was exactly done during an animal sacrifice. The rituals that went with the animal sacrifice were described along with the major festivals that included animal sacrifices to the gods. The priests who performed the sacrifice were discussed a little.
Robinson, G.E. Everyday Life in Ancient Greece. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1972.
In this book the basis of Greek life was described in detail. Life in the Heroic Age was described along with life in Sparta, since life there was different then most other places. Athens and Athenian democracy is presented along with the stages that lead up to it. Women and slaves' riles in the Greek world were explained, along with marriage and the household. The founding of schools and public education were explained along with the beginning steps towards education. Religion and how it affect the daily lives of the Greeks were discussed in detail while examples were also given.
Switzer, Ellen. Greek Myths: Gods, Heros and Monsters. New York: Atheneum Macmillan Publishing Co., 1988.
This book was a basic introduction to Greek mythology. Greek life and religion was briefly discussed and then information on the key gods in Greek myth were presented. Many myths and tales were told and illustrated in this book that included the major people, gods and heros. Myths about Hades and Persephone, Heracles, Zeus, and the creation of the Olympiad.
The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth, editors. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1998.
This book has a wonderful collection of articles dealing with Classical Civilizations, mostly Greek, Roman, and Jewish. It contains articles on everything from corncakes to Aristotle to medicine to earthquakes. Anything you need to know will most likely be found in this book!
Cotterell, Arthur. The Encyclopedia of Mythology. New York, NY: Smithmark Publishers. 1996.
This is a book that is mainly concentrated on mythology. It explores Classical, Norse, and Celtic mythology with an explanation of all the gods. With the major gods of each religion a myth or two is included with each. This is a great tool for learning about the different gods.
