Apollodorus (first century B.C.) mythologist. Encyclopedia of World Writers, Beginnings To 20th Century

Apollodorus is largely responsible for the information
modern scholars possess concerning the religion
and mythology of ancient Greece.Very little is
known about his life, and the dates of his birth and
death cannot be established with any certainty. It is
known that he studied in the city of Alexandria,
which in the first century was the intellectual heart
of the classical world, under the tutelage of the astronomer
Aristarchus and the philosopher
Panaetius. He spent most of his life in his native
Athens.
Apollodorus is best known for his work Bibliotheke
(Library). In essence, this work is a summary
and description of the identities and activities of
the Greek gods. It discusses famous events in Greek
mythology, such as the war between the Titans and
Olympians and Prometheus’s gift of fire to humanity.
It is a straightforward story that Apollodorus
tells uncritically and without digressions.
From this compilation comes much of the modern
knowledge of Greek mythology, although only
fragments of the work survive to the present day.
Apollodorus also wrote a work entitled Chronicle,
a historical reference covering Greek history
from the time of the Trojan War to Apollodorus’s
own time. Again, only fragments of this work remain.
Apollodorus wrote other works, some dealing
with geography, which is said to have
influenced the geographer STRABO, and grammar,
but it is his works on mythology that are of greatest
importance and that have influenced such writers
as John Milton and Ben Jonson.
English Versions of Works by Apollodorus
Apollodorus: Library, Volume 1, Books 1 & 3 (9). Loeb
Classical Library. Translated by J. G. Frazer. Cambridge,
Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1992.
Church, Alfred Jr., ed. Stories from the Greek Comedians:
Aristophanes, Philenon, Diphilus, Menander
and Apollodorus. Cheshire, Conn.: Biblo and Tanner
Booksellers, 1998.
The Library of Greek Mythology. Translated by Keith
Aldrich. Lawrence, Kans.: Coronado Press, 1974.
Works about Apollodorus
Carey, Christopher. Greek Orators: Apollodorus
against Nesira. Vol. 6. Oakville, Conn.: David
Brown Book Co., 1992.
Ireland, S., ed. Apollodorus: “Argonauts and Heracles.”
London: Bristol Classical Press, 1992.

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