THE ORIGINAL MYTHS
Online Sources
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Theoi Greek Mythology: This website is a comprehensive guide to Greek mythology for in-depth research. Easy to navigate, this site is an excellent resource for students who wish to thoroughly immerse themselves in the Greek myths. It acts as more of a quick reference type of source, but it cites the original sources to allow for more in-depth reading.
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Ancient Egypt: The Mythology: In the same fashion as Theoi, this website is a comprehensive guide to Egyptian mythology for in-depth research. Easy to navigate, this site is an excellent resource for students who wish to thoroughly immerse themselves in the Egyptian myths.
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Your Source for Norse Mythology and Vikings: Like the previous two sources, this website is a comprehensive guide to Norse mythology for in-depth research. Easy to navigate, this site is an excellent resource for students who wish to thoroughly immerse themselves in the Norse myths.
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Loeb Classical Library: This is a high-quality source of translated original Ancient Greek and Roman texts. Some of these texts are the original sources of Greek and Roman mythology. The selection of translations is vast, the texts are displayed like an e-reader, and it is overall organized very well. The one disadvantage: this is not publicly available. You may need to check with your local library to see if they have access to this source.
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Internet Sacred Texts Archive: This is a vast archive of sacred, religious, and mythological texts from cultures all around the world. It provides English translations of mythological source texts of the five main mythologies discussed here and many others. It is not as professional-looking as the Loeb Classical Library, but it is available for free online to anyone. The sources to look for to explore the five common mythologies include:
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Greek: Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony, and Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica
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Roman: Virgil's Aeneid and Ovid's Metamorphoses
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Egyptian: Legends of the Gods: The Egyptian Texts (a collection of texts, not the original title), The Pyramid Texts, and The Egyptian Book of the Dead
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Norse: Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda and Poetic Edda, and the collection of Sagas
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Hindu: The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas, and the Puranas
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Many, if not all, of these original texts can be found in physical book or e-book form. Check Amazon, book retailers, or your local library to see if any are available. Keep in mind that many different versions by different translators are available. Also remember that of these, the Hindu texts are still commonly used today as religious texts, so be respectful when researching; the others are still used by some people, but not nearly as many.
Print Collections
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The Mythology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by DK (2018): This is part of a series by DK that explains big concepts in simple ways and with illustrations and artwork. The Mythology Book is a collection of eighty myths from various world mythologies. This seems like a good book to have for the classroom that will allow students to get their feet wet in the world of myth without too much headache. It looks professional and elegant, while also being riveting and accurate.
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Gods and Heroes: Mythology Around the World by Korwin Briggs (2018): This is similar in style to The Mythology Book, but this tome acts as an A-to-Z encyclopedia of gods and heroes from mythologies across the world. It also features stunning and delightful illustrations by artist and author Korwin Briggs. The cartoons of these larger-than-life characters are sure to captivate young students and invite them to learn more about these myths. See also: comics of mythological family trees by Korwin Briggs
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Greek: http://www.veritablehokum.com/comic/the-greek-god-family-tree/
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Roman: http://www.veritablehokum.com/comic/the-roman-god-family-tree/
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Egyptian: http://www.veritablehokum.com/comic/the-egyptian-god-family-tree/
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Norse: http://www.veritablehokum.com/comic/the-norse-god-family-tree/
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Hindu: http://www.veritablehokum.com/comic/the-hindu-god-family-tree/
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Treasury of Greek Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Heroes & Monsters by Donna Jo Napoli (2011): This large compendium of Greek myths published by National Geographic features stories of all the important characters of Greek myth and adds to the magic with beautiful illustrations and related historical facts to connect the stories to the culture. Also available from National Geographic and author Donna Jo Napoli:
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Percy Jackson's Greek Gods (2014) and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes (2015) by Rick Riordan: While these collections of Greek myths will be particularly special to fans of Rick Riordan's other works, they can be enjoyed by anyone with an appreciation for Greek mythology. Riordan retells the classic stories using his sarcastic and wry protagonist Percy Jackson (the character himself being a demigod--half god, half mortal--son of Poseidon, god of the sea), putting a modern spin on them and making them far more enjoyable to learn about. Illustrator John Rocco breathes life into these myths with his full-page and full-color drawings. These would make an excellent classroom staple for teaching mythology.
There are a vast amount of collections, compendiums, and treasuries of mythology, some dedicated to one culture and some to all. Some may be more suited to introducing young people to mythology than others. The ones I have listed are illustrated, exciting, and meant for a young audience; others are purely academic and meant for an older audience. The latter are perfectly fine and accurate collections, but may not be the best choice for a middle school classroom.