Written thousands of years ago, Greek myths are still passed on and studied today. Edith Hamilton writes these myths in his book Mythology. He allows the reader to understand the Greeks and their ability to tell great stories, their relationship with god, their view on man and human nature, and how they have effected the twenty-first century. From myths of love to war, Hamilton allows the reader to see past the judgmental side of the Greeks and view how they lived and what they believed in. He does this best in the myths; Cupid and Psyche, Perseus, and The Fall of Troy.
The Greeks constitute great storytellers as they, in detail, employ action, suspense, mystery and love throughout their stories. The tone continually changes, allowing the reader to stay interested in the story Hamilton depicts this nicely as he writes the Greek story Cupid and Psyche. Cupid and Psyche is a tale of an elegant young woman, Psyche, in whom no man would love, only see. The story begins with a sorrow tone as Psyche, being incredibly beautiful, even compared to the goddess of love Venus, can not find a man who will marry her. The tone of the story changes, due to Apollo, as Psyche finds her husband and falls madly in love with him. At this point, her family has no idea where she is and even if she is still alive. Psyche does not know who her husband is or what he looks like. Her curiosity gets the best of her as the plot thickens and the suspense arises. Against her husband's will, she visits her sisters. When her sisters realize that she has never seen her husband, they put evil thoughts in Psyche's mind and make her believe that her husband was not a man and would some day turn against her and devour her. Psyche one night follows her sister's instructions and attempts to see him. As her husband sleeps, she holds the light above her husband's head only to find that he was not a monster, but the god of love. Cupid awakes to the drip of hot oil from the