Greek and Roman Mythology #265202

Misunderstanding that it is sought to avoid is the popular association of these anthropomorphic con ceptions and imaginative tales with the Romans. The writer has wished to make it clear that what is known as classical mythology is a product of Greece, and that in general the Latin writers have merely retold stories that were not original with their people. The Greek names have therefore been employed primarily, even though they are less familiar than the Latin. It may seem in consistent that this has been done even when the version of a tale as it appears in the work of some Latin poet, e.g., Ovid, has been followed, but it is not the nomenclature, which is Latin, but the subject matter and the conception of the tale, which is Greek, that has been followed. Where the story is mainly of Latin development Latin names have been used. Perhaps it may seem that too scant attention has been paid to Roman gods, but when one deals with Roman deities one quickly gets out of the realm of mythology into that of ritual and history, subjects which seem out of place in such a book as this.