One of eight volumes in the World Book Myths and Legends Series by Philip Ardagh - a British children's author better known for his Eddie Dickens Trilogy - this title offers a brief introduction to ancient Greek mythology, focusing primarily on the stories of the human heroes, rather than the gods and goddesses of Olympus. Like Ancient Egyptian Myths & Legends, it is a fairly modest undertaking, presenting thirteen selections, a list of further reading, a "Who's Who" in mythology, a glossary, and in index - all in 64 pages!

Here the reader will encounter the tale Midas and His Golden Touch, in which a greedy king learns that gold isn't the most precious thing after all; Medusa - The Snake-Haired Monster, slain by the hero Perseus; The Man Who Loved Himself, and who gave his name (Narcissus) to a psychological condition; and The Minotaur in the Maze, in which Theseus saves his fellow Athenians from sacrifice in the Labyrinth on Crete. Also to be found in this collection are: Prometheus' Gift to Humans, in which people gain the precious resource of fire; Icarus - The Boy Who Reached Too High, in which a young boy fails to heed his father's warning, with disastrous results; Pegasus - The Winged Horse, who sprang from the head of the slain Medusa, and was briefly the steed of Bellerophon; and The Twelve Labors of Heracles, that most heroic of all the Greek heroes. Other selections include: Odysseus and the One-Eyed Giant, Orpheus and the Underworld, The Wooden Horse of Troy, Jason and the Argonauts, and Oedipus - Doomed by Prophecy.

Unfortunately, I was not as favorably impressed by this entry in the series, as I was by the one devoted to ancient Egyptian mythology. None of the stories read particularly well, feeling almost like rushed summaries, with many details missing. Of course, I'm far more familiar with Greek mythology, than with Egyptian, so it's possible that I simply didn't pick up on similar flaws contained in the volume devoted to the latter. But I think my lack of satisfaction this time around is chiefly owing to the inclusion of thirteen stories in Ancient Greek Myths & Legends, rather than the seven found in most other volumes in the series. No wonder everything felt rushed - there simply wasn't room to do justice to each tale! I would advise young readers interested in this subject to consider a different introductory volume on Greek mythology, such as the excellent D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths. ( )

Ancient Greek Myths and Legends
As told by Philip Ardagh, illustrated by Virginia Gray
This book is one of those that seems like a story book but is in fact an informational book. I picked this book because I love stories about Greek Mythology. This book while informational is also easy to read and understand for younger readers. I would have this book in my room to use for history or English studies. I would use it when we studied ancient societies of Greek era for history and in English to represent information text or ideas for quick writes. I rated this book with five stars because it has great information and is easy to understand. ( )