Do you study mythology in your homeschool? How about Greek mythology specifically? While we enjoy and appreciate tales from various cultures, we find ourselves coming back to these Greek mythology resources, as they quickly became our favorite myths to study.
Years ago I had this idea to introduce world mythologies to the Agents as part of our homeschooling. I figured we would take maybe a semester—or two, tops—read some cool stories, discuss their similarities and differences, and move on.
However, they found these myths way more interesting and entertaining than I ever imagined. Basically since then we have never stopped incorporating these tales into our studies. Mythology is now a regular subject on our agenda, like language arts, math, or history.
I am not exactly sure when {or why} Greek mythology resources became our preferred, but over the years we have read more ancient Greek stories than other mythologies we have introduced. We have loved the following titles in particular, and hope you will, too.
Note: I have linked each of the titles below to its Goodreads page so you can check out more information and see which titles would be a good fit for your secular homeschool.
There are literally thousands of wonderful resources when it comes to studying Greek mythology. There is no way this could ever be an exhaustive list or even anything close.
Instead, the titles listed here are ones we have used personally as part of our homeschool reading rotation. Toward the end of the list I included several fictional series the Agents have enjoyed reading independently. Some stories place Greek gods and goddesses in modern environments with modern problems; others are choose your own adventure style books.
First, a Few General Titles
While each of these does include names and places specific to Greek mythology, they do not solely focus on it. These books introduce myriad characters, covering a wide variety of gods, goddesses, mythical creatures, and fantastical beings. An excellent place to start if you aren’t sure what direction you want to take or what types of mythologies might interest you and your students most.
Children’s Book of Mythical Beasts and Magical Monsters
M Is for Monster: A Fantastic Creatures Alphabet
Mythology {DK Eyewitness Book}
Basher Mythology: Oh My! Gods and Goddesses
Note: These “alphabet” books {like M Is for Monster} are not just for littles. They include tons of good info for older kids as well. The Zeus book is just one of dozens we have read over the years. We also recommend the entire Basher series; it is fabulous.
Best Greek Mythology Overview
This book—written by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Christina Balit—is beautiful and uses flowing, poetic language to tell each story. It covers about two dozen “key characters” while also providing sidebars with additional information to help tie everything together.
Treasury of Greek Mythology
The collection of biographies and stories presented here makes an excellent starting point for diving into Greek mythology resources specifically.
I also highly recommend the other mythology books by the same author and illustrator. We are currently reading their collection of Old Testament myths.
Other Good Starting Points
These titles present lots of basic information as well, some in nontraditional ways. Great overviews for learning about the key people and events, and appropriate for all ages.
Greek Mythology {Junior Genius Guide} {One of several fun books for kids written by Ken Jennings. Yes, the Jeopardy champion.}
Weird But True Know-It-All Greek Mythology
Z is for Zeus: A Greek Mythology Alphabet
The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus
Books About Individual Goddesses and Gods
These books from the World Mythology collection provide a short, simple introduction to some of the prominent players in the world of Greek mythology. They are quick but very informative reads for helping to get to know who’s who. Note that a few selections use the Roman name as the title.
Achilles
Aeneas
Athena
Cyclopes
Odysseus
Poseidon
Theseus and the Minotaur
Venus
Zeus
Books About Life in Ancient Greece
Additional books we have read about life in ancient Greece. {We highly recommend all of the books in the You Wouldn’t Want To Be series.}
Ancient Greece and the Olympics {Magic Tree House Research Guide}
Art and Religion in Ancient Greece
Top 10 Worst Things About Ancient Greece You Wouldn’t Want to Know
You Wouldn’t Want To Be a Greek Athlete: Races You’d Rather Not Run
You Wouldn’t Want To Be a Slave in Ancient Greece: A Life You’d Rather Not Have
Mythology Rocks!
The Mythology Rocks! books offer re-tellings of various mythological tales with commentary from academics who study the specific mythology. {They also have books covering African, Chinese, Celtic, Mayan, and Aztec mythology.}
Gods and Goddesses in Greek Mythology Rock!
Heroes in Greek Mythology Rock!
Ancient Greek Mythology
This books series was a hit with the Agents. They have more of a graphic novel style and feel.
The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology
The Heroes and Mortals of Greek Mythology
The Monsters and Creatures of Greek Mythology
Homer’s Epic Poems
Of course no post about Greek mythology resources would be complete without mentioning these stories. We love these tales of the Trojan war {The Iliad} and the travels of Odysseus {The Odyssey} as re-told by both authors listed below.
Each book has short chapters, plenty of illustrations, and were good for both elementary and middle school. {But could definitely be appreciated by older students as well.}
The Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff {illustrated by Alan Lee}
The Odyssey by Rosemary Sutcliff {illustrated by Alan Lee}
The Iliad by Gillian Cross {illustrated by Neil Packer}
The Odyssey by Gillian Cross {illustrated by Neil Packer}
The following three series, of course, are well-known works by author Rick Riordan. He also writes several mythology guides as well. {Although we have not personally used them—which is why we did not list them here.}
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The Lightning Thief
The Sea of Monsters
The Titan’s Curse
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Last Olympian
The Heroes of Olympus
The Lost Hero
The Son of Neptune
The Mark of Athena
The House of Hades
The Blood of Olympus
The Trials of Apollo
The Hidden Oracle
The Dark Prophecy
The Burning Maze
The Tyrant’s Tomb
The Tower of Nero {expected October 2020}
Goddess Girls
This is a fun series by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams. Agent J has read and enjoyed all of them, and even now will re-read them occasionally. There’s also a collection called Little Goddess Girls for younger readers.
Athena the Brain
Persephone the Phony
Aphrodite the Beauty
Artemis the Brave
Athena the Wise
Aphrodite the Diva
Artemis the Loyal
Medusa the Mean
Pandora the Curious
Pheme the Gossip
Persephone the Daring
Cassandra the Lucky
Athena the Proud
Iris the Colorful
Aphrodite the Fair
Medusa the Rich
Amphitrite the Bubbly
Hestia the Invisible
Echo the Copycat
Calliope the Muse
Pallas the Pal
Nyx the Mysterious
Medea the Enchantress
Eos the Lighthearted
Clotho the Fate
Persephone the Grateful
The Girl Games
Heroes in Training
This series is very similar to Goddess Girls, with an emphasis on the male gods.
Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom
Poseidon and the Sea of Fury
Hades and the Helm of Darkness
Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire
Typhon and the Winds of Destruction
Apollo and the Battle of the Birds
Ares and the Spear of Fear
Cronus and the Threads of Dread
Crius and the Night of Fright
Hephaestus and the Island of Terror
Uranus and the Bubbles of Trouble
Perseus and the Monstrous Medusa
Hermes and the Horse With Wings
Dionysus and the Land of Beasts
Zeus and the Dreadful Dragon
Hercules and the Nine-Headed Hydra
Alkyoneus and the Warrior Queen
Interactive Mythological Adventure Series
We’ve only read a few from this series so far, but these types of “you choose” books are always fun.
The Epic Adventures of Odysseus
Jason, the Argonauts, and the Golden Fleece
Hercules and His 12 Labors
The Trojan War
Hades and the Underworld
Olympians vs. Titans
Perseus the Hero
The Quest of Theseus
Have you used any of these Greek mythology resources in your homeschooling? What others would you recommend?
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