Edith Hamilton's Mythology Sources

Notable Ancient WritersEnglish I Honors

Mrs. Pilgreen

HOMER

• Wrote THE ILLIAD: epic poem written about the Trojan War

• Wrote THE ODYSSEY: Epic poem about Odysseus traveling home from the Trojan War

• The Blind Poet

VIRGIL

• Wrote AENEID: epic poem written about Aeneas’s travels home after the Trojan War• Modeled after Homer’s

writings

HESIOD

• Wrote THEOGONY: about the creation of the universe & the gods• Begins with Chaos

• Goes through the genealogy of the gods

OVID

• Wrote METAMORPHOSES: collection of poems about transformations• Begins with Creation

• Ends with Julius Caesar

EURIPIDES

• Wrote MEDEA: written about the wife of Jason (the hero from the Aeneid) and her revenge on him when he betrayed her for another woman

SOPHOCLES

• Wrote OEDIPUS THE KING: tragic play about a king who accidentally kills his father & marries his mother

• Wrote ANTIGONE: daughter of Oedipus, who wants to bury her brother’s body, although doing it would violate the law