At the heart of this book lies a concern with the interaction between the cultural assumptions and world-view of ancient (and often of modern) Greeks and their literature. John Gould examines the myths, rituals, memory, and exchange of ancient Greeks with an overriding interest in anthropological field-work which helps to shape his argument.

The book contains the most significant essays (some now regarded as classics) written by one of the world's foremost experts in Greek mythology and culture over the last thirty years, including several previously unpublished papers. Newly revised, with reference both to corroborative material and to subsequent treatments and discussion of significantly different approaches to the same topics, these papers offer a marked coherence of focus and argument which informs the whole volume. Most of the essays arise out of the experience of teaching and address problems, puzzles, and misunderstandings encountered by students.