Why read Indo-European Poetry and Myth?

Book cover of Indo-European Poetry and Myth

Book description

The Indo-Europeans, speakers of the prehistoric parent language from which most European and some Asiatic languages are descended, most probably lived on the Eurasian steppes some five or six thousand years ago. Martin West investigates their traditional mythologies, religions, and poetries, and points to elements of common heritage. In The…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Indo-European Poetry and Myth as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

William Hansen

Author

This book is for lovers of mythology who want the big picture.

The Greeks descended from speakers of a now-vanished, prehistoric language known as Proto-Indo-European. Accordingly, they share a linguistic and cultural heritage with other speakers of Indo-European languages, which include speakers of Italic languages, Germanic languages, Slavic languages, Romance languages, Iranian languages, and others.

With astonishing learning and an almost unparalleled command of ancient and modern languages, the late Martin West identifies elements that the Greeks inherited from their Indo-European ancestors and carried with them when they entered Europe, including Father Sky, Mother Earth, the Sun god and his…

From William's list on The best books on classical mythology and folklore.