Preface -- A note on the use of ancient texts -- 1. Introduction -- Basic concepts -- How classical mythology came into being -- A mix of traditions -- The archaic period -- The classical period -- The Hellenistic and Imperial periods -- Interpretatio Romana -- Classical mythology after antiquity -- How do we know about classical mythology today? -- The mythological worlds : places -- Earth -- Sky -- Death realm -- Tartaros -- Physical model versus biological model -- The mythological world : characters -- The principal Gods -- The nature of Gods and humans -- Nature spirits -- The relationship of Gods and humans -- Peculiarities of mythological narrative -- Supernaturalism -- Personification and reification -- Binatural beings versus composite beings -- Reversible and irreversible changes.

2. Time : what happens in classical mythology -- Divine time and human time -- What happens in classical mythology -- From Chaos to cosmos -- Two cosmic families -- The cosmic house -- The succession of world rulers -- The first humans -- The division of meat -- The theft of fire -- The loss of paradise -- The great deluge -- The origin of nations -- The Gods establish their cults -- The mating of Gods and humans -- The heroic age -- The family of the heroic age : the Pelopids -- Antecedents to the Trojan War -- The Trojan War -- The returns -- The end of the heroic age -- What does classical mythology say? -- The nature of the physical world -- The nature of the Gods -- The nature of humans -- The heroes, or demigods -- Behavior options.

3. Deities, themes, and concepts -- Absent deity -- Adamant -- Aeolus (Greek Aiolos) -- Aetiology (also Etiology) -- Aineias (Latinized form Aeneas) -- Aloads (Greek Aloadai or Aloeidai) -- Ambrosia -- Anthropogony -- Aphroditê (Roman Venus) -- Apollon (Latinized form Apollo) -- Ares (Roman Mars) -- Argonauts (Greek Argonautai) -- Artemis (Roman Diana) -- Asklepios (Latinized form Aesculapius) -- Athena (also Athenê and Athenaia) (Roman Minerva) -- Atlas -- Bellerophon (also Bellerophontes) -- Biographical pattern -- Catasterism (Greek Katasterismos) -- Centaurs and Hippocentaurs (Greek Kentauroi and Hippokentauroi) -- Charon -- Combat myth and legend -- Cosmogony (Greek Kosmogonia) -- Culture hero -- Cyclopes (Greek Kyklopes) -- Demeter (Roman Ceres) -- Dionysos (Roman Bacchus and Liber Pater) -- Divine guilds -- Eileithyia -- Elysion Field (Latinized form Elysium) and Isles of the Blessed -- Epithet -- Eponymy -- Erebos -- (Latinized form Erebus) -- Fabulous peoples and places -- Flood myth and legend -- Folk etymology-- Genealogy -- Giants (Greek Gigantes) -- Hades (also Aidoneus) (Roman Dis and Orcus) -- Hephaistos (Roman Vulcan) -- Hera (Roman Juno) -- Herakles (Latinized form Hercules) -- Hermes (Roman Mercury) -- Hero (Greek Heros) -- Hestia (also Histia) -- Honor (Greek Timê) -- Hubris -- Hunters -- Ichor -- Iris -- Jason (Greek Iason) -- Kadmos (Latinized form Cadmus) -- Ker (or Keres) -- Kouretes (Latinized form Curetes) -- Kronos (Roman Saturn) -- Labyrinth (Greek Labyrinthos) -- Luminaries -- Maenads (Greek Mainades) -- Meleager (Greek Meleagros) -- Midas -- Monsters -- Mountains -- Myth of the ages -- Nectar (Greek Nektar) -- Nymphs (Greek Nymphai) -- Odysseus -- Oedipus (Greek Oidipous) -- Olympians (Greek Olympioi) -- Oracles -- Orpheus -- Pan -- Pandora -- Persephonê (Latinized form Proserpina ; also Korê) -- Perseus -- Personified abstractions -- Poseidon (Roman Neptune) -- Promotion and demotion -- Romantic narratives -- Satyrs (Greek Satyroi) and Silens (Greek Silenoi) -- Seers -- Sex-changers -- Sexual myths and legends -- Special rules and properties -- Succession myth -- Tartaros (Latinized form Tartarus) -- Tasks -- Theban Wars -- Theseus -- Titans (Greek Titanes) -- Transformation -- Translation -- Triads -- Trickster -- Trojan War -- Waters -- Winds -- Wondrous animals -- Wondrous objects -- Zeus (Roman Jupiter, also Jove).

4. Annotated print and nonprint resources -- Print resources -- Ancient sources -- Reference works -- Classical mythology and the arts -- Surveys and studies on particular subjects -- Nonprint resources -- Abbreviations and selected reference list -- Glossary -- Index -- About the author.