[img]2144|right|||no_popup[/img]There are some books you know you need, and then there are books like Greek Mythology for Beginners. You don’t know you need them until you hold them in your hands. As author/illustrator Joe Lee rightly points out, the tales of Greek gods, heroes, villains, and epic (as well as occasionally lurid) achievements have resonated throughout the centuries in our literature, art, and pop culture. The value of Greek Mythology for Beginners, then, is to remove the filters of modern culture and return us to the source. It’s a bookshelf-worthy collection of fireside stories as well as an easy reference to consult in times when we need a reminder that, “As foreboding as Hades certainly was, we must never fall into the false belief that he was evil. The ancient Greeks may have feared his realm and been frightened of his judgments, but he was never considered a devilish presence. He was considered tough but fair.”

Curiously, the book is something of a departure for the For Beginners series; it is an illustrated text rather than the usual documentary comic book. The obvious benefit is concision, in that the lean tome provides an overview of Greek mythology in its relative entirety, including Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey. A straight-up comic book would have to be encyclopedic to cover as much material as Greek Mythology for Beginners. But Joe Lee is a better illustrator than writer, and his text is lessened by a tendency to write imploding, or at least inartful, sentences. Nevertheless, this quibble with wordcraft is largely trumped by Lee’s obvious enjoyment of ye olde Greek stories, a good humour that infuses the book and seems churlish not to share. Lee’s gentle jocularity, both written and illustrated, is, indeed, the book’s greatest strength. Consider his description of the Horae:

“Three sisters who were the embodiment of the seasons: spring, summer, and winter. No autumn for the ancient Greeks, so no leaves to rake.”

As usual, the book demonstrates the soundness of the For Beginners concept. Though superficial in its attempt to provide a context for appreciating the Greek myths through its modern evocations (e.g. neo-classicism, Nietzsche, Freud, comic books), the book otherwise succeeds where it counts; making a large, sprawling topic inviting. After all, who can fault a book for whetting the appetite of learning? Like Charon on the River Styx, but far less ominous, Joe Lee takes us on a memorable ride with a very pleasant bonus. Unlike the journey to Hades, we can return from Greek Mythology for Beginners with a refreshed perspective on our Western cultural legacy.

Visit www.forbeginnersbooks.com for this and other books.

Frédérik Sisa is the Page's Assistant Editor and Resident Art Critic. He is also a tweeting luddite and occasional blogger, and can be reached at fsisa@thefrontpageonline.com.