Captured centaurs and satyrs, incompetent seers, people who suddenly change sex, a woman who remembers too much, a man who cannot laugh—these are just some of the colorful characters who feature in the unforgettable stories that ancient Greeks and Romans told in their daily lives. Together they created an incredibly rich body of popular oral stories that include, but range well beyond, mythology—from heroic legends, fairy tales, and fables to ghost stories, urban legends, and jokes. This unique anthology presents the largest collection of these tales ever assembled. Featuring nearly four hundred stories in authoritative and highly readable translations, this is the first book to offer a representative selection of the entire range of traditional classical storytelling. Complete with beautiful illustrations, this one-of-a-kind anthology will delight general readers as well as students of classics, fairy tales, and folklore.

Edited and translated by

William Hansen is professor emeritus of classical studies and folklore at Indiana University, Bloomington, and one of the world's leading authorities on classical folklore. His books include Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature.

Reviews

"Enchanting."—Victoria Rimell, Times Literary Supplement

"An extraordinarily entertaining bedside book."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post

"I cannot recommend it highly enough."—Edith Hall, Literary Review

"William Hansen's marvelous treasury lets us experience for ourselves the timeless tales that made the ancient Greeks and Romans think, shudder, and laugh."—Adrienne Mayor, author of The Amazons